


On The Line

by AngelsAnarchy



Category: The Internship (2013)
Genre: F/M, Phoebe Tonkin is the FC for this fic, There is smut in this story so be advised
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 14:21:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 63,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6858493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelsAnarchy/pseuds/AngelsAnarchy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stuart and Abby live in completely different worlds. Stuart lives for the latest virtual upgrades and winning snarky debates while Abby busts her ass in order to pay for her dream school all while taking care of her dad. But when the two are suddenly thrown together in a unique situation, they learn to step out of their comfort zones in order to fall in love. Stuart/OC Story</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the New Age

**Author's Note:**

> Authors Note: So this is another OC fic. I love to do these and DOB is the perfect person to match people with. I saw The Internship twice and managed to come up with this storyline to tie into what's already been written. I decided to jump from 3rd person to 1st so read at your own risk of being annoyed. I'll try my best to make sure it isn't horrible but please let me know what you think.

When Billy McMahon called his daughter Abigail to let her know he was going to be moving closer to her for the summer in hopes of landing a dream job, she disregarded the possibilities that it would actually happen. She disregarded it for a number of reasons, not just that it was some random internship at Google or that he rarely ever followed through on big things like this. It was mostly because she didn't want to get her hopes up that her father would be settling so close to her. After her mother died when she was 10, Abigail found that she was the one taking care of her father. He tried to move mountains for her but she knew that her father could never handle that kind of weight. So as she got older, she had to take care of herself and her father. It was easier having her uncle Nick, who was her father's closest friend, to keep her dad on track but once she got accepted into a performing arts school things became more about worrying about herself than taking care of her father.

Dancing was something she had inherited from her mother. She loved to dance and let music just take over her entire being. When she wasn't in school, all of her free time was dedicated to working at a nightclub. It was a fun place to make money and because her dad was so protective over her growing up, her self-defense lessons at 12 years old came in handy. She didn't want her dad to think that just because he lost his job that her tuition would go unpaid so the club was a perfect place to make money and get tips at the same time. The moment he called to tell her he got laid off, she knew things were going to get crazy. They always were when it came to her dad but she loved him.

"I feel like Marty McFly when he started walking around in the future. Isn't it dangerous to have these cars driving around with no driver?" Billy said as they walked towards the building.

"It's only scary because it's different big guy. Let's head inside." Nick patted Billy on the back before turning towards Abigail.

"Are you going to be okay out here by yourself?" Billy asked looking down at his daughter.

"Dad, I'm not a baby. I'm sure I'll be fine. I haven't seen one person here that I couldn't easily beat the crap out of if they were harassing me." Abby said fixing her dad's shirt.

"Go in there and do your best. I'll be out here when you guys finish up." She smiled at him and he leaned down to kiss his daughters cheek.

"Okay baby, don't talk to strangers and watch out for the driverless cars." He said over his shoulder as he started to walk towards the building.

"Remind him to breathe, will ya?" Abby said as Nick kissed her cheek.

"He'll be fine. We'll meet you out here when it's over." He said before running to catch up with her dad. Abby watched her dad walk into the Google headquarters and smiled. It really would be nice to have her dad closer. She walked around looking at the compound when someone ran straight into her making her drop her bag.

"Walk much?" The guy said scrambling to pick up his papers.

"Daily actually but I don't typically have to dodge moving targets." Abby said back thinking the guy was joking.

"Seriously? Did you just learn to walk today or are you naturally into body checking random strangers?" She looked up to see he was dead serious.

"Your face was glued to your phone and you think this is my fault?" Her response made him glance up. He had brown eyes that held a serious gaze behind thick rimmed, black glasses. Moles were perfectly placed on his neck and jawline drawing attention to his mouth. Abby thought he was pretty cute but his attitude could seriously use some adjustment.

"I hope you aren't in charge of anything important or else we're all doomed." She said making him pull a face.

"Maybe I could design you an app that will help you walk amongst working human beings." He said standing up quickly.

"That sounds great. Maybe you could design an app so your head can find its way out of your ass." She smiled as she tossed her bag over her shoulder and turned her back on the guy. He was stunned as he stayed rooted to his spot for a moment but he knew he had to say something.

"Yeah…well I'm not apologizing!" He yelled after her but she just waved at him, not even bothering to turn around. He rushed off for orientation trying to forget about the exchange but it didn't help that the girl was so good looking. Stuart wasn't much of a dater. He preferred to live his life through the internet, mocking those ridiculous couples that posted every single detail of their dating lives on Facebook. He enjoyed blogging and tweeting. It was easier to express himself over the internet. He still came off as a pompous douchebag either way but he felt untouchable on the internet.

After the meeting, he walked out of headquarters to see the girl sitting on a bench seemingly waiting for someone. She looked over and caught his gaze but instead of scowling, she actually smiled at him.

"Eyes up." She said making him roll his eyes.

"I'm just thankful you're sitting and not walking around endangering lives." He said making her laugh. He was genuinely shocked that she laughed. He didn't really make girls laugh, it was more of a noise of disgust before they walked away. He was lost for a moment but was shoved from behind making him stumble and drop his phone.

"What the hell?" He said turning to see it was the arrogant dick, Graham.

"Move it." He said without looking at him.

"Rude much?" The girl had retrieved his phone and was actually defending him.

"Well who might you be? I didn't see you in orientation." Graham had actually fully stopped to flirt with the girl. Instead of responding she ignored him and stepped around him to look at Stuart.

"Are you okay?" She asked handing Stuart the phone.

"You must not work here if your standards are that low." Graham shook his head before walking away.

"Is everyone here a total asshole or just the ones with name tags?" She said looking after Graham.

"Was that a swipe at me?" Stuart asked cocking his eyebrow.

"Well you did spear me and then blame it on my inability to walk which is preposterous considering I'm very coordinated." She crossed her arms over her chest and Stuart laughed.

"Really? Who lied and told you that?" He questioned.

"The San Francisco Performing Arts Academy." She smiled smugly and Stuart's eyebrows went up.

"Well I suppose they'll let anyone into dance schools these days." Stuarts's snarky response made the girl laugh.

"Wow you are only providing solid proof that my assumption is correct, Stuart." She said flicking his ID badge. She started to walk back to the bench and Stuart stepped towards her.

"Maybe I should get your name too. It's only fair." He said trying to play it off.

"Why so you can Facebook stalk me?" She teased but he rolled his eyes.

"No so I know how to file the lawsuit against. My back is really starting to hurt." He rubbed at his lower back and she shook her head just as her phone rang.

"I've actually got to go." She fixed her bag on her shoulder. Stuart watched her start to run through the people before turning back to look at him.

"My name's Abby Clark. I look forward to hearing from your attorney." She shouted back at him. He was stunned but not stunned enough to shamelessly Facebook stalk her immediately.


	2. Dangerous Attraction

**[Stuart's POV]**

I thought that this internship shouldn't be this miserable. I had been in the middle of tweeting how stupid it was to be in groups for interning which cost me in the end because I had been put on a team of complete asshats. The team manager Lyle, was a phrase away from being punched in the face, there was a kid named Yo-Yo who clearly had some psychological issue due to his crazy mother, a nerdy slut named Neha who dressed like a little girl and the two creepy old guys Nick and Billy. I was pretty much destined for failure which meant my dad would be on my ass the moment the summer was over.

I sat through the translate meeting with my new group and listened to Billy talk to Lyle about his stupid crush on the dance instructor and mentioned his daughter was also a dancer. My mind instantly went to the girl from yesterday, Abby. I was ashamed to say I had Facebook stalked her for a good 3 hours last night before I finally decided that I would try and add her. I'd never done something so bold before and it would appear she was making me sweat because she hadn't added me yet and it was slowly driving me crazy. I continued to check my Facebook and over think things for the rest of the day.

As the day went on, the more annoyed I became. When the first challenge was to debug a series of coding to which I thought would be fairly simple but with Nick and Billy shouting random ass things all over the place, it was hard to even think straight. I finally had enough when they started talking about Jennifer Lopez and yelled.

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP." I shouted drawing attention to myself.

"Whoa dark and stormy, we're just trying to help." Billy spoke up with his hands up defensively.

"You aren't helping. You're doing a lot of talking about shit that doesn't make any sense so unless you personally know the person who wrote this code then you should just sit down and look like the beautiful idiots that you are." Neha told them straight up and Nick clapped his hands together.

"Well who is this guy? Where can we find him?" The group sighed but I got a wicked idea.

"You can't actually-" I put my hand up to cut Lyle off.

"He's a professor at Stanford." I said making the others look at me.

"Yeah and that's only a couple of minutes away." Neha picked up the bait.

"Great, Yo-Yo give me a name." Nick asked.

"Charles Xavier." Yo-Yo came through and I tried not to laugh out loud.

"He's also in a wheel chair." I added as Nick and Billy started taking mental notes of everything we were spewing at them.

"He's bald." Neha added.

"He also might be with his best friend that wears a metal helmet." Nick and Billy started to move.

"I got it. Let's go." Nick walked away from us as Lyle let out a sigh of contentment. Billy followed him and we finally were able to work in peace. After about an hour of working through the code we had to wait on Yo-Yo to get through the networking issue.

"I'm almost done checking if the encryption had the wrong certificate." HE said as Lyle looked over his shoulder.

"Almost? Either you're done or you're not. You can't be almost pregnant." Neha spoke up.

"Yeah she would know guys." I turned around in my chair and she looked over at me.

"You know what? Why don't you Google asshole, asshole." She spat and I pulled a face.

"She's right Yo-Yo, get it together." All of us looked at Yo-Yo as he pulled something off his face.

"What the hell was that?" Neha asked.

"I was punishing myself for my inferior performance." Yo-Yo seemed to be pulling his eyebrow hair out and I felt like I was about to lose it.

"Oh that's great. He's crazy and somewhere there's a geek orgy you're late for." I said without even looking at Neha.

"Yeah well somewhere there's a micro phallus convention you're late for." She smiled at me making me roll my eyes.

"Does your mind immediately go to a penis joke or-" She started to say something but someone cleared their throat.

"Uh excuse me, I don't mind to interrupt a penis joke but I need some help." I turned to the voice and saw it was Abby. I nearly fell backwards in my chair as Lyle stood up to greet her.

"Oh hey, it's you." She pointed at me and I shook my head.

"Yeah um are you…are you looking for me?" I asked curiously.

"As if, douchewagon." Neha said from her chair.

"The lady downstairs said I could find Billy McMahon up here." She said tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah he actually- I cut Lyle off.

"Why are you looking for him?" I asked curiously. She looked way too young to be his girlfriend. I mean, she was gorgeous. There was no way he could score chicks that looked this good.

"I'm supposed to have lunch with him in about 15 minutes." She said. I felt my chest heat up in embarrassment slightly.

"Oh you must be-" Lyle started to say again but I cut him off yet again.

"Well he may be a bit late. He's probably elbow deep Logan Howlett right now." I said spinning around in my chair smugly. No one else laughed but I didn't care.

"I guess it would be better for him to be elbow deep in him opposed to the other way around." She said from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at her and she held up her hands.

"You know XMen?" Yo-Yo spoke up from his computer.

"Yeah I know XMen. The movies weren't as good as the comics but most things never live up to the original." She said looking over at me.

"A sexy nerd? I like you already." Neha said making me shrug. Her phone started to ring and she ruffled through her bag to find it, excusing herself. We all shared looks as she talked.

"What?! Are you okay? No I'm coming to get you." She was frantic as she hung up her phone.

"Is everything okay?" Lyle asked her.

"Yeah someone attacked my dad so I have to go pick him up." She said looking worried.

"That's horrible! I hope he's okay." Neha said looking concerned.

"Sorry we couldn't help." Yo-Yo said earning a frown from her.

"Thanks…see you all around." She gave me one last glance before she took off. We all went back to work but it only took a few minutes before that pompous dickhead, Graham pops up on the screens of the computers bragging about how his team won. We all sort of gave up for the day and decided to have lunch when Billy and Nick walked towards our table with their trays.

"Heeeey! Did you find Professor Xavier?" I teased seeing how unhappy they looked.

"Yeah we found him." Nick said unamused.

"Thanks so much for that. That's really great team spirit. I almost missed my lunch date because of that little stunt." Billy said making me think of Abby.

"Damn that's a shame." I said making sure it was dripping with sarcasm. Just as I said it Abby walked up.

"I got you some ice." She held up a bag of ice.

"Thanks sweetie." Billy put his arm behind her back and I shifted uncomfortably.

"Abs, this is our team for the internship. That's Yo-Yo, Neha, Lyle and Stuart." Nick introduced us like he knew Abby personally.

"We've met, I didn't get a chance to get names earlier though. It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Abby." Abby said waving at everyone.

"Billy was telling me about you earlier." I looked over at Lyle strangely.

"He likes to brag about me but I'm really not that spectacular." She rolled her eyes.

"It's a dad thing and yes you are." Billy kissed her head and I spit my juice all over my tray. Billy was Abby's dad.

"Yeah this big guy right here is the one with the sharp sense of humor. I probably should have expected a move like that from you, Stu. I guess Nicky will have to wear you down." Billy tapped my shoulder before leading Abby to another table across the way.

"At least they didn't take it so horribly." Yo-Yo said going back to his lunch.

"Nice spit take, emo supremo. That's definitely a sure fire way to get noticed." Neha teased as I continued to stare at Abby eating with Billy, Nick and some random guy with headphones.

"Did you think to mention that Abby was really Billy's daughter?!" I scolded Lyle who pulled a face.

"You kept cutting me off. It's not my fault you sent her dad to Stanford to find a member of the XMen." Lyle defended as Abby got up and started back to the table. I tried to be cool but on the inside I was dying.

"Hey can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked sweetly as I looked up at her.

"I'm all ears. What's-OW!" Abby leaned down and gripped my nipple through my shirt tightly.

"The only reason I'm not hitting you in the face right now is because my dad wouldn't like it and you're wearing glasses but if you draw attention to us in a negative way I will make sure to take your nipple back to the table with me." She had her teeth gritted together as she talked and a smile on her face.

"Oh my God." Lyle said looking terrified.

"Can…can I get a little- OW! Help!?" I said looking over at Yo-Yo who had his jaw dropped and eyes wide.

"My dad is trying really hard to make this work and the last thing he needs is some asshole making things even more difficult. You want to be the cocky techy guy that's your bag but when your stupid pranks get him punched in the face, you're going to have to deal with me." She twisted slightly and I bit my lip, gripping the table with my hand.

"AH! AH OKAY! Okay!" I said trying to control my breathing through the most painful titty twister I've ever experienced.

"When I leave this table, I want you to think about how terrible you'd feel if someone shit all over your hard work. He's trying to be your friend. If you are somehow too cool for friends then try to muster up a bit of respect. Am I clear?" She asked and I nodded my head quickly. She released my nipple and stood up straight.

"I love your shoes by the way. Super cute." She said to Neha who smiled brightly.

"Thank you." She thanked her before Abby looked down at me one last time and walked back over to Billy to eat.

"That was sexual assault." Yo-Yo said timidly.

"Yeah thanks for the help!" I gritted out as I rubbed my sore nipple.

"I guess maybe you should rethink the whole douche charm, hipster." Neha said before pushing her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh shut up and FYI those shoes are ugly." I said bitterly. I glanced over at her and she was smiling at something Nick had said. I couldn't understand how someone so beautiful could be so vicious and why the hell I was still attracted to her even after she practically took my nipple off. Lyle held out his smoothie and I snatched it quickly holding it to my injured nipple.


	3. Friend Request: Accepted

**[Abby's POV]**

I had picked up a dance class at the Google headquarters so I could spend more time with my dad between him getting used to the area. A friend of mine from the club said it was good money and every bit would help at this point. I didn't think it would be a big deal until I saw one of the guys from my dad's group walk into class. He looked terrified and disappointed as he sat through the hour long dance class.

"Thanks for coming out everyone. To those interning, good luck tomorrow and for the rest of you, don't work too hard." I said as everyone clapped and gathered their stuff and exiting. Lyle fumbled around in the back and made his way towards me as I wiped the sweat off my face.

"Hey-uh nice class. It was pretty supa fly." Lyle was trying to keep a safe distance and I could tell.

"You can relax, I'm not going to hurt you." I said walking over to my bag.

"I guess I just wanted to apologize for letting that whole shenanigans go down yesterday. It was wiggity whack." Lyle said making me laugh.

"I probably overreacted a bit. I'm just really protective of my dad. He's all I really have so when people try to put him down I'm quick to jump their shit. Sorry if I freaked you out." I apologized knowing Lyle didn't have anything to do with it just by looking at his face.

"It's cool. Stuart kinda asked for it but I think your dad is a great guy." Lyle said making me nod my head at him.

"I was wondering if you knew why the last girl quit. She was really good- not that you aren't, I was just wondering." Lyle corrected as we walked out.

"She didn't quit, she just knows I need the money so she gave up some of her classes. We're actually friends and she knows that I'm going through a rough situation right now." I explained.

"Oh is there anything I can do to help?" Lyle offered nicely.

"Probably not but thanks for asking. I'll tell Mar that you said hey." I said smiling at him.

"Oh no you don't have to do that." He said quickly making me stop.

"O-kay." I laughed waiting for Lyle to tell me what the deal is.

"I talked to your dad about her so I guess I just figured you knew I sort of have a thing for her but I mean, look at me. She's a dancer and I'm-" I cut him off.

"A cute, smart and successful guy? Yeah I could see how she would totally not like you. You know she's not a lesbian right?" I teased making him blush.

"I just assumed that girls like you wouldn't be that interested in tech guys like me." Lyle shrugged.

"It's 2013 Lyle, nerds are hot. Didn't anyone tell you?" I winked at him as I started down the stairs.

"Well for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure Stuart has a thing for you. I caught him looking at your Facebook page the other day." Lyle nodded his head and I saw Stuart sit down in some sort of egg chair upstairs. Lyle caught me staring and I looked over at him.

"Good luck tomorrow." I hit his arm and he shook his head.

"You should come and see us in action. Quidditch is sort of ma' game." Lyle popped his shirt and I laughed.

"Well then I'll definitely try and make it." I said as he clapped his hands together.

"Sweet. Catch you on the flip side!" Lyle ran off and I glanced back at Stuart again completely lost in his phone. I figured if my dad was going to get anywhere with his team then I should probably make amends. I walked over to the lunch station and asked for a bag of ice before taking it up the steps and standing in front of the pod like chair he was sitting in.

"Clearly it's occupied, genius. Move along." He said and I knew he didn't even look up. I knocked once more and he sighed.

"Seriously?! There are other-" He threw the front of the pod open and looked up at me.

"You aren't here to further assault me are you?" He asked frozen.

"I actually came to apologize." I held up the bag of ice and he eyed me strangely.

"So you aren't going to beat me with whatever's in that?" He asked cocking his eyebrow and I laughed sitting on the edge of the chair he was lying in moving my hand towards his chest but he covered his nipples quickly.

"Seriously, I'm not above screaming for help." He warned and I rolled my eyes moving his hand and putting the ice on his chest.

"It's ice drama queen, relax." I said making him wince slightly as he moved his hand to take the ice from me and hold it himself.

"I'm pretty sure I'd only be a drama queen if you hadn't attacked me." Stuart said making me frown.

"I'm sorry I attacked you. I should have." I said genuinely and he looked me over before tightening his jaw.

"Well when my nipple stops throbbing I might consider forgiving you." Stuart said looking at his phone.

"Look I understand that these internships are hard to get and that guys like you dream of jobs like this-" He cut me off.

"Guys like me? What's that supposed to me?" He got defensive.

"Highly intelligent guys who love technology? Why do you assume everything I say is an attack?" I asked shaking my head.

"Maybe because you actually attacked me!?" He gestured to his nipple and I stood up.

"Okay clearly you aren't mature enough to have an adult conversation so I'm just going to go." I started to walk away but he laughed.

"Mature enough? Are you serious? You gave me a purple nurple because I pranked your dad and I'M the immature one?!" He said in disbelief.

"I apologized!" I threw my arms out.

"Yeah you seem super sincere." He said with a mock laugh.

"I am truly sorry because I hurt you physically and I don't even know you." I said biting my lip. He stared at me for a few moments before speaking.

"Do you often hurt people you actually do know?" He asked. His demeanor seemed to change abruptly and I smiled.

"I try not to but most people that know me know that my dad is special to me. He's all I really have and when someone doesn't give him a chance or takes advantage of him, they might as well have done it to me. So like I was saying before you thought I was trying to offend you, I understand this internship is important to you but if you just give him a chance then you might be pleasantly surprised just how special he is." I said earning a look that almost looked shameful, as if he was trying not to scold himself. I turned my back to walk down the stairs when he finally spoke up.

"Why won't you add me on Facebook?" Stuart asked seeming annoyed.

"I mean you gave me your name and practically told me to add you and then you just…I mean what's up with that?" Stuart asked making me stop.

"You sent me a friend request, do you think I just add anyone who sends a request? I mean technically you were asking to be my friend but you don't even know me." I said making Stuart roll his eyes.

"Wow seriously? It's social networking, not match dot com." Stuart threw his hands up and I smiled moving closer to him.

"You want to be my friend? You want inside my world? Then you've got to earn it." We gazed at each other for a moment before I walked towards the steps.

"Good luck tomorrow." I smiled one last time before leaving Stuart in a slight daze. The truth was that I liked Stuart. I didn't date a lot of guys growing up because I just never had the time. Between dancing and taking care of my dad, it just didn't seem like a priority. I had dated a few guys but none of them really intrigued me like Stuart did. He was smart and pretty cute but it's like he hated living in the moment. I didn't understand it and I think that's why I was drawn to him even though he was rude the first time we met. I had dinner with Nick and dad at their apartment that night but Nick caught me staring at the friend request in my phone.

"I didn't know you were friends with Stu." Nick pointed to my phone as I sat on the couch.

"I'm not really. I actually ran into him the day I dropped you guys off. I kind of jumped him about pranking you guys." I admitted making Nick laugh.

"It's all in good fun. Tomorrow is the sports challenge and you know your dad and I are going to own that." Nick gestured to dad as he lay sprawled out with chips and salsa on his chest completely knocked out.

"I wish he wasn't breaking his back trying to make this happen. If I can't afford school this semester then-" Nick cut me off.

"Hey that's not going to happen. We have a few months to get that money together so keep your head up Abs." Nick his my chin lightly and I nodded. Nick had always been family for us. When mom died, dad was in a really bad place and Nick had been the only one that really helped us out. I had until the end of the summer to come up with half of the tuition which was about $15,000. It would be a miracle if I could make that at the club without getting naked or doing private dances. I tried not to think about it when I went back to my own apartment that night. It was so empty and quiet with my roommate gone for the summer. I enjoyed the quiet but it made my thoughts too loud. I don't know what time I finally crashed but when I woke up after noon, I started running around like a crazy person. I had promised my dad that I would be there for his sports challenge and I knew I was already late. I had called both Nick and dad's phones to see if they made it their without a ride from me and they didn't answer so I assumed they had.

The moment I ran over to the event I saw the score and they were getting crushed 70 to nothing. Dad finally called a time out and I tried to get closer to the action. Stuart had tossed his hat on the ground as Nick and Dad tried giving them all a pep talk. Lyle caught my eyes and I waved.

"Baby! Come here!" Dad yelled and I ran over towards the group as they moved towards the fenced off portion of the game.

"This little manic also spun herself into a dance school and she did it because she believed in her own talent." Dad said making me blush.

"Flashdance?" I questioned looking over at Neha.

"Yup." She confirmed and I nodded my head.

"Look I know you guys aren't excited about us being on your team but I'm here for my little girl and if you can't relate to me then think about her. She had nothing but nice things to say about all of you guys last night and I want to make this work. I believe in you guys." I felt Stuart looking at me and I glanced up at him.

"My dad's right. You guys are insanely smart. If you work together then you can win this thing. I believe in you guys so believe in yourselves and each other." I said making them all smile and look at each other. Someone blew a whistle and made me look up.

"No fraternizing with the crowd during game time." The ref said making Graham speak up.

"Oy Twombly, your girlfriend can't play for ya." He said making Stuart blush. I snatched his hat off the ground and he looked surprised.

"Kick his ass." I said confidently confusing him before my dad and Nick pulled him into a huddle. When the whistle blew again, I silently prayed they would take my dad's advice and work together and they seemed to. Dad grabbed the ball and tossed it to Stuart who tossed it back to Neha, then to Lyle and over to Nick who threw it up for my dad to swat in.

"YES! WOOOO!" I cheered jumping up and down. The whole team got jazzed as they started running back down the field. Stuart looked over at me and smiled. He had a really gorgeous smile that lit up his whole face.

"LET'S GO GUYS!" I screamed feeling my adrenaline pumping just from watching. On the next play, Stuart used his phone to blind some girl as Nick ran it in to score again. I had to laugh as he celebrated because of how he used his phone. The boy who seemed to hate to come out from behind his phone was now using it as a weapon. They continued to work as a team getting more and more points until they finally started to catch up to the blue team. Stuart dove through the air to swat a ball to Nick and I screamed when Nick managed to get the points with the assist. They finally gave Neha the ball and they came up the field guarding her, taking the hits and making sure she could make it all the way to the goal before she tossed it up and finally made a goal.

"YEAH NEHA! YOU GO GIRL!" I shouted and she pointed at me. Graham was yelling at his team as Jump Around started to play on the field and a guy in a golden outfit ran out there dancing. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing but apparently they all knew he was important. That's when it hit me.

"That's the most impressive golden snitch I've ever seen." I said aloud as everyone on the field broke out into a run.

"GO DAD! GET IT!" I was jumping up and down, screaming like a lunatic as he neared the guy but I watched Graham take down Nick.

"HEY! COME ON REF!" I screamed as the people around me also get bent out of shape because of it. He got closer to my dad and before I could even react, he almost flipped my dad over he racked him so hard with the broom before stealing the win. I ran onto the field and fell next to my dad.

"Dad! Are you okay?" I asked as he groaned.

"Yeah baby just help me up. I don't want that bastard to see me down." I helped him to his feet as Nick walked over to us.

"I'm going to kill him." Nick stopped me and shook his head.

"He's not worth it." He kissed my head and I turned around to see the rest of the team looking defeated.

"G-D IT!" Yo-Yo throw his broom down and started messing with his eyebrow.

"Don't you start that Yo-Yo. You guys played your asses off. Today was the first time we worked together as a team. I'm damn proud of you guys." Dad said. Nick patted Yo-Yo on the back.

"Let's keep it rolling. We'll go get a frosty." Nick started to lead everyone inside and I over heard dad asking him to ice his balls but Stuart cleared his throat.

"Hey, could I get my hat back?" He pointed as it hung out of my pocket. I pulled it out and handed it to him.

"You played a hell of a game. That swan dive was pretty impressive." I said crossing my arms over my chest.

"We still lost though." He said crumpling the hat in his hands.

"Haven't you ever heard winning isn't everything?" I questioned and he tilted his head.

"Yeah well you don't know _my_ dad." He said looking down at his feet.

"I may not mean much but you earned my respect. Win or lose, you stepped up." I said making him look up.

"Just your respect?" He questioned making me smirk.

"Abby, you coming?" Nick yelled back and Stuart rubbed the back of his neck.

"I guess we better catch up." I suggested but he started backing away.

"I think I actually need to shower. I'm pretty gross right now so maybe I'll just see you later." He said and I nodded. He turned his back on me and I quickly pulled out my phone, opening Facebook and adding him. He was only a few feet away when I heard his phone beep. He pulled it out and looked back at me smiling.

"Good game Stuart Twombly. Hopefully I'll see you around." I called out as I ran to catch up with Nick and the others. For the first time since I found out about Dad losing his job, I felt like this might actually be an okay summer.


	4. Simple Wins

**[Stuart's POV]**

The next few days the meetings with the team were fairly uneventful. We were only in the first few weeks of this internship and already lost the first two competitions. If we couldn't pull a win off on the next one then it was pretty much a wrap, of course that's not what I told my dad when I called to check in. I knew he was itching for me to fail this internship so I would have no other option but to come back home and work for him. That was pretty much a death sentence for me so I tried to block it out as we prepared for the next challenge to be released. However my preparation pretty much consisted of getting to know Abby via Facebook. I had pretty much gone through every photo album on Abby's face book and found out that she really had been dancing since she was a baby and she was in a lot of competitions growing up but other than dance she didn't seem much into girly things. She liked sports and went to a lot of parties. I didn't do much of either of those things except baseball, which I had pretty much left behind once I hit high school and all the jocks used me for target practice. There were a lot of pictures of her and Billy but I couldn't see any of her Mom. She had said that her Dad was all she had so I assumed her mom was either dead or not in the picture anymore.

I had tried to message her once but she never responded so I tried to convince myself that I never sent the message. Just as I was about to leave her page a new status update popped up.

_Abby Clark: Working day shifts at a night club is both strange and ironic._

I chalked up her not responding to her work schedule before heading to Google headquarters for the next meeting. Lyle had sent a text saying the next challenge was about to go live and I wanted to win this time. I sat down across from Neha and she was grinning like she had just come from some role play orgy.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me with a creepy ass grin?" I asked her making her laugh.

"I see you and I have a new friend in common." Neha held her phone up.

"I find that pretty hard to believe." I said rolling my eyes but she flipped the screen around to show me Abby's Facebook.

"Looks like you're starting to warm up to actual human beings. I'm sure your mother would be proud." She said as Billy and Nick walked in. I would have said something back but I wasn't sure how I wanted to play my friendship with Abby to her dad so I just gave her a look that said you're lucky it's time to work.

"Alright team, our next challenge is to create an app. Let's keep it young and fresh that way it gets tons of downloads, ya feel me?" Lyle said as we read over the details. I tried to wrack my brain for an app idea that was good and also currently nonexistent which seemed to be damn near impossible. We tried to think of things for over two hours without coming up with anything. A good portion of the first hour was spent trying to explain to Billy and Nick what an App actually was though so I guess that's a plus in some universe.

"Let's use the team spirit we've been building and knock this one out guys." Billy patted me on the back and I continued to stare at the screen.

"It would probably help if we had an actual idea for an app." I said pulling my phone out and looking through some of my own apps.

"You bet your sweet ass it would Stewie." Nick spoke up.

"No…never Stewie." I said without looking up.

"No Stewie, got it. Perimeter breach acknowledged, Stuart." Nick looked over at Billy.

"I feel good when this one warms up to me. It's going to happen, my friend. I'll break you down like a 2X4 Bronco, watch me do it." I looked at him like he was losing his mind.

"I know someone else he'd like to warm up to." Neha smirked and I elbowed her getting a jab back.

"Alright guys, let's brainstorm this bitch!" Billy clapped his hands together as I sat down.

"Let's put the coffee in the pot and let it percolate." Nick started snapping his fingers. We started working up a list of popular apps and what people liked best about them but the longer it took us to think of a common theme, the more frustrated I became. Once Billy pretty much renamed Instagram, I gave up.

"I'm telling you, it already exists." I said tossing a stress ball in the air.

"You're telling me that there is already an app that takes pictures and instantaneously puts them on the line? I don't think so. I've never even heard of the instagram hoopla." Billy put his hands on his hips.

"Quick interjection, when you keep saying on the line you do mean online right?" I pointed out but Nick let out a heavy sigh.

"Stuart, don't do that! You don't do that to a man, he's got a million dollar idea here." Nick pointed at Billy and I put my hand on my chin.

"Billion dollar actually-" Billy cut me off.

"It's okay Nicky, he can't bring me down. Listen, come up here." Billy gestured to me and I laughed.

"No I'm good." I said shifting in the chair but from behind Billy I could see Abby walking in quietly putting her finger to her lips as Neha smiled at her.

"Please come, let me explain this to you in a way that's visual." I knew if I didn't get up that Abby would think I was being disrespectful so I got up.

"He's bigger than you, be careful." Yo-Yo said as I stood next to Billy.

"Okay now you're out in the world and you're seeing something beautiful so you start taking pictures. Go ahead, pretend." Billy nudged my arm and I held my finger up to take a fake picture, to which he provided sound effects for.

"Now you take that photo and you put it on the line and you share it on Twitter or wherever and that's Instagram." Billy said making me nod.

"100% Instagram." Neha said.

"Now let's go with my idea. You can take the photos and instantaneously share or not and you don't have to say shit. You can share it and like it all you want on the line. People are having fun and sharing things on the line and exchanging memories. That's why I say we call it Exchange-A-Gram." I threw my hands up and went to sit back down. Billy finally turned and saw Abby standing there. Her hair was pulled up but parts of it fell in her face framing it nicely. She wore black skinny jeans with boots and a lacy black and red tank under a blazer. I started trying to picture what kind of club she worked out to be dressing that causally sexy.

"Hey baby, I might have to skip dinner tonight." Billy kissed her head as she pulled her phone out.

"We can go another night if you want but if I can just offer up some resolution here, this is Instagram. I applaud that you thought of the idea, it's already been profited off of so many stick with photos and not so much of the instant sharing." Abby was showing her dad what I assumed was her instagram page and he shook his head.

"I didn't know you had an Instagram." I said without thinking.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." She smiled and I could feel the blush on my cheeks. Lyle saw a link pop up on the screen and clicked it.

Graham and his group popped up on the screen.

"HELLO FELLOW INTERNS! Graham Hawtrey here and I attached a link to our app which has already been downloaded 230 times." Lyle shut the screen and I tossed the stress ball.

"I seriously hate that guy." I said shaking my head.

"Great, we're going to lose yet another challenge, we're not going to get these jobs and our lives are basically ruined." Neha sat down next to me defeated.

"Hold up a second, you're lives aren't ruined. You guys are young, you have your whole life ahead of you." Billy sat down in front of us as Abby stood behind him looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Do you even know what it's like to be young right now? A quarter of the kids coming out of college can't even get jobs. They're also buried under student loans that they'll have to figure out how to pay off without an actual job." I said pulling my phone back out.

"That's a correct statistic. Mother says that you can go to a good college but nothing's guaranteed anymore. That's life, sorry." Yo-Yo confirmed.

"The whole American dream you guys grew up on, that's all it is nowadays. A dream." Neha added. I thought it was strange that Abby hadn't spoken up yet but merely stood back biting her lip.

"You guys are too young to be this cynical. Do you really see the world like this?" Nick asked.

"It's not how we see the world, it's the way things are now." I looked up at Nick and he frowned.

"Well thank God my girl isn't like this." Billy reached back and took Abby's hand.

"Feel free to share your secret with the rest of us then." I said making her look over at me.

"I don't really have a secret. Life's tough, bad shit happens all the time. You can either feel like the world is working against you, blame it on circumstances or you can keep living, trying different things, trying anything until something works out." She shoved her hands in her pockets and I lifted my eyebrows.

"Well put Abby." Nick said pointing at her.

"Beautiful talent with a give-em-hell attitude, that's my girl." Billy stood up and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Look I can just grab something, I didn't mean to interrupt-" She started to back away but Billy didn't let her leave.

"No you know what? Let's get out of here. All of us, I think we need to take a step back and recharge." Billy said looking around at all of us.

"We have work to do." Yo-Yo objected.

"It's time to hit the reset button. Let's take this to the streets so we can come together as a team." Nick pushed.

"If all else fails then we still have something going with the exchange-a-gram. Just saying." Billy threw his hands up and Neha was the first to get up and grab her bag.

"Are we really doing this?" I asked looking over at Yo-Yo and Lyle who seemed to be following. I was the only one still sitting as I powered down the computer I was using.

"It's just for a few hours. You think you can disconnect for that long?" I turned around to see Abby still standing there.

"I guess I kind of got outvoted anyway." I grabbed my bag and threw it over my shoulder.

"How about I promise to buy you a beer for graciously conceding to popular demand?" She offered.

"You don't have to-" She cut me off.

"I know I don't have to but you seem kind of down and I'd like to buy you a drink. Plus knowing my dad, he'll want Chinese and there's a really good place in the city a few blocks from my club that has a pretty excellent selection of beer." She smiled at me and something in my stomach started to burn. I wasn't sure what it was but it was a slow building burn that made me lick my lips for some reason.

"I guess I can't argue with that." I followed her out and got on the Google bus with everyone else. I kept glancing over at Abby as she talked with Neha. Once we got to the restaurant, it seemed overly crowded. Abby walked up to the hostess who greeted her with a friendly hug and they exchanged a few words before she waved us back. Billy was instantly charming everyone in the restaurant and Abby shook her head.

"How's you chicken?" She asked leaning off to the side so I could hear her.

"It's um...it's better than I expected it would be. I mean you can't really go wrong with orange chicken but it's better than the orange chicken I usually get from take out." I admitted making her jaw drop.

"So you doubted my taste in restaurants? I should be offended but I wont be." She teased as I sipped my beer.

"I can definitely see Billy as a salesmen. He is pretty much owning this room right now and I have no idea what he's saying." I said earning a laugh.

"He has that effect on people." She said sipping her own beer this time.

"You kind of seemed uncomfortable back there though, with the whole generational thing. Do you really not worry about your future? I mean I can't imagine dance school is cheap." I pointed out. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear and shrugged.

"If you haven't noticed, my dad is like a giant kid. He's optimistically blind to any negativity, it can be annoying at times." She said rolling her eyes.

"Must be the give em hell attitude." I teased.

"I'm almost 22 and I've lived away from home for 4 years now. My dad doesn't need to worry about my struggles. He tries really hard to make sure I'm happy and that we get to see each other but I don't want him to put that burden on his shoulders." She explained as the entire restaurant laughed again.

"Well he's your dad, I mean you're supposed to be a burden on your parents. That's just the way it goes." I said making her chuckle.

"He tries really hard and I don't want him thinking he's doing a bad job." She said tilting her head to look at Billy who was talking to the manager.

"It's pretty cool that you're so close with your dad." I said and I could feel her look at me.

"You aren't close with your parents?" She asked pinning her eyebrows together but I shook my head.

"I thought this was supposed to get my mind open to think of an app, not therapy." I tried to change the subject and reached for my phone. She snatched it out of my hands and I got anxious.

"What are you doing? Don't mess up my phone." I reached for it and she leaned back in her chair.

"What are you always doing on here? I mean is my company so terrible that you have to dive back into the web?" She questioned before pulling up my Facebook app and seeing that I was still on her page.

"You sent me a message? I didn't get anything." She said confused pulling her own phone back and giving me time to snatch mine back.

"It's not big deal. I mean it's just Facebook right?" I tried to play it off but when I dared a glance she was frowning. She held out her hand and glanced at my phone.

"You realize this is like a life line for me? I was seriously having the sweats the few seconds you stole it from me and now you want me to give it back?" I asked and she smiled.

"I was going to give you something, do you trust me?" It wasn't the first time I noticed how pretty she looked when she smiled but something about it made the anxiety in my stomach sort of disappear. She typed something into my phone and then handed it back before typing something into her phone. My phone beeped and I looked at the screen. It was a text.

"Now you can get a hold of me no matter what. I'm more of a texter. Facebook message is kind of shady. You never know when things will end up popping up on your status instead the message." She said but I was kind of in shock. She had just given me her number without me even asking for it.

"You didn't have to do that." I said looking at her but she laughed.

"Did it ever occur to you that I may enjoy talking to you? I mean, when you're not acting like a cocky douchebag, that is." She said as I tried not to look so stunned. Before I could say anything Nick hit me on the chest.

"Hey we're going to head to this dance club up the street. Let's go!" He said as everyone started to get up.

"Um I'm not much of a dancer." I said quickly putting my phone in my pocket.

"Relax Stu, my girl can teach you the basics." Billy said clapping me on the shoulder. Abby laughed as she put her jacket back on and followed Yo-Yo and Lyle. I was buzzed enough to be excited as we walked down the street towards the club but I think most of my high was because I had gotten Abby's number. The moment we walked into the club, it was clear this wasn't your average dance club. I hadn't been to many clubs but there were tons of half naked women dancing around.

"Are you sure he meant dance club?" Nick asked Billy over the music.

"I don't know I was rocking Mandarin and he was rocking Cantonese something clearly got crossed in the middle but I say happy accident." Billy laughed. My phone went off as we walked through the door and I looked at it.

 **Text from Abby:**   
_Want to know a secret?_

I looked over at Abby and she glanced at my phone just as another message came in.

**Text from Abby:** _  
I work here._

I felt my eyes go wide looking over at her. She raised her eyebrows and nodded as Nick started talking to me.

"Great big world out there, my friend. Just three inches up, I beg you." Nick said putting his finger on my chin as I got another message.

 **Text from Abby:**   
_My friend Kira has a thing for cute guys in glasses too so I suggest you go with it._

I read the message confused as Nick tilted my chin up and I was met with a huge rack- exotic looking woman who was eying me. I smiled awkwardly before she took my finger and stuck it in her mouth sucking on it.

"Ohh ho-ly shit that's deep." She took my finger out of her mouth and started to lead me towards a table. I glanced back at Abby who was hiding her laughing.

**[Abby's POV]**

Stuart had clearly never been in a club like this before but it was fun to see him nervous. I felt like I was getting to see a new side of him. My dad knew that I worked at a night club but he didn't know which one I worked at and as far as he knew, I was only bartending.

"You going to be okay in here?" Dad asked and I laughed.

"I know most of these girls. It's fine." I said knowing that he would worry. Nick had stopped and started talking to Neha though.

"You okay there firecracker?" He asked her.

"What? Yeah of course! This is my jam. Seriously, this is my shit." She said looking so anxious it was almost sad.

"Look I know this is your shit but if you don't want to be here then we can grab those guys and get out of here. It's no big deal." Dad said trying to make her feel better.

"No please don't do that. I just...I've only read about this stuff okay? Sexy encounters, twilight fan fiction, henti-" Nick cut her off.

"What's Henti?" He asked confused.

"Japaneses comic books where the women get ravaged by octopus tentacles." Neha explained making dad and Nick look horrified.

"Looks I've imagined everything it's just I've never actually done anything." She confessed.

"There's nothing wrong with that. If anything, you're a unicorn." I spoke up making her laugh.

"You're safe with us. Just ask my babygirl. We've got you." Dad said reassuringly.

"For what it's worth, your imagination is so wild, reality is going to be a breeze if not a let down." Nick put his hand on Neha shoulder and she smiled looking more at ease. I put my arm into hers and walked ahead of them.

"You're pretty lucky to have guys like them in your life." Neha smiled.

"I really am but they're in your life now too and I don't mind sharing. Listen, this club isn't just for horn dogs. These girls are some killer dancers and really sweet people. I can guarantee that you'll have a good time tonight. I will make sure of that okay? I got your back girl." I said and she tightened her grip on my arm.

"Then let's get some drinks!" We got to the table and I squeezed in next to Lyle and Neha. Stuart looked slightly disappointed but I gave him a smile. Nick got a tray of shots and sat it on the table.

"Alright bottoms up everybody!" Dad said as we all grabbed a shot. The only one seeming to resist was Yo-Yo.

"I can't." He said putting his hands up.

"Why? You're 21 right?" Nick asked just to be sure.

"Yeah but my mom says alcohol numbs the brain." He explained.

"I'm not saying that tequila is the first step on the train of self respect but god damn maybe it's a step in the right direction." Nick offered.

"Yo-Yo it's just a shot. What's the worst that could happen?" I offered. He shook his head and picked up his shot. We all clinked glasses and threw back the first shot, staring at Yo-Yo to make sure he'd actually keep it down but when he started screaming for another we all freaked out. One shot turned into at least 6 before Neha and I got up and started dancing with Lyle, Dad paid Kira to give Stuart a lap dance and Nick started taking pictures of all of us.

"Doesn't that bother you?" Neha asked as we took another shot. I looked over at Stuart and laughed.

"Why would that bother me? Kira is a good friend of mine and Stuart clearly needs to loosen up a bit. Seems like a win-win." I said as the tequila burned my throat.

"Yeah but you like him right? I mean he's actually nicer now that he talks to you which I thought was surprising but he's not as annoying to be around." Neha said as we stood back up to dance.

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to wait and find out." I said as Stuart walked over to the water room to watch Stephanie and Monica dance. He moved his body with the music and I tried not to laugh but it was pretty adorable how goofy his dancing was. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to see some of the girls.

"Way to come in and not tell anyone!" Trix said as I hugged her.

"Well I'm with my dad and some of his friends. They're trying to let loose tonight." I explained as Megan, Patricia and Felicia walked over. I sent them over to where Yo-Yo was and told them that he'd never had a lap dance before so they graciously took shifts giving him lap dances. Nick had to keep running him to the bathroom and I could only assume that he wasn't able to handle it very well but when I glanced over at Dad talking with Lyle, I couldn't help but smile. Her really enjoyed this bunch of kids and seemed to really care about them. I hoped it was only a sign that he would really stick around no matter how the internship panned out. I turned around to see Stuart sitting down at the table alone trying to see his phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest.

"I FOUND YOU! I was gonna text you and ask if you wanted to dance with me but I couldn't find you." He smiled a goofy smile shoving his phone into his pocket, missing at last 4 times before getting it but I extended my hand to help him up.

"Maybe we should cut you off. You seem like you've hit your limit." I said as he tripped on the table and ran into my chest.

"I can't feel my face so you might be right." Stuart said and I put my hands on his face to test his theory. He had moles on his neck and face that scattered his pale skin giving me sort of a guide to where I wanted to put my hands.

"You can't feel any of that?" I questioned and his jaw hung slack.

"Um if I say no will you keep touching me?" He asked with dazed eyes.

"I'd fee like I was taking advantage of you." I teased with my hands on his face still.

"I'm totally cool with that." He said as I pulled my hands down and put them on his shirt.

"How about we do something that I won't feel bad about in the morning. What else would you like to do?" I asked him and he pointed behind him.

"I wanted to dance in the water room but apparently that's not allowed. It's really hot in here and drinking has made me sweat a lot." He started flapping his arms and I laughed.

"Stay right here and I'll see what I can do." I left him standing there and he danced with Neha and Yo-Yo. I saw Lyle standing at the bar with Marielena. She caught sight of me and smiled.

"I should have known your skinny ass was here! Why didn't you call me? Are you not working tonight?" She asked hugging me.

"Well I figured I would surprise you." I said as Lyle looked at me.

"You work here too?" He asked.

"I do but I'd prefer if we kept that detail hush hush. My dad would hate it and no matter how much I could try and explain that I don't do private dances, he just wouldn't understand." I explained and he nodded running his finger over his lips.

"I see you've met my good friend Lyle here. Isn't he cute?" Lyle blushed and she smiled.

"He's a perfect gentlemen." Marielena said making Lyle look at her.

"I think you should let him buy you a drink and conversate while I ask Lou if it's okay for me to take a few people into the wet rooms." I said and she bit her lip.

"Did you bring that guy you've been talking about, Stuart?" Marielena started looking around and I put my hand over my face as Lyle laughed.

"Oh so you do have a thing for Stuart. I knew it." Lyle said and I put my hand up.

"Both of you need to just stop because I have dirt on you both and I'm not afraid to use it." I warned and Lyle gulped.

"Talk, have fun and I'll see you later." I kissed Marielena cheek before squeezing Lyle's arm reassuringly. My manager Lou said it was okay if I took some friends into the water room and the girls retrieved Stuart, Neha and Yo-Yo before going into the water room. I watched them dance like maniacs as Nick walked up next to me.

"How the heck did they manage to get in there?" He asked amused.

"I called in a favor. Stuart said he wanted-" I looked over at Nick to see him chuckling.

"What? What's so funny?" I asked hitting his arm.

"You've got a thing for dark and stormy" He chuckled.

"What? I do not! I was trying to please someone in your group so you guys get along better. Can't I do a favor for my dad and uncle Nicky?" I said but he shook his head.

"Whatever you say kiddo but if you did decide to give Stu a shot, I'd approve. He's a good kid, a little temperamental but a good kid nonetheless." Nick said putting his arm around me.

"Don't say anything to dad okay? I don't need him to worry about me." I looked over at Stuart in the tank and bit my lip.

"He's going to worry about you either way. I'm pretty sure that comes with being a dad but I wont say anything." Nick said just as dad walked over.

"Look at our boy getting it. He's a natural." He said talking about Lyle. We stood in awe of him working his charms on Marielena but just as things started going really well, some asshole walked up and started giving them grief.

"We may need to get out of her fast." Nick said.

"I'll get the others." I said before running to go get them out of the tank.

"We've got to go, Lyle might be in fight." I said and Yo-Yo practically sprinted out of the tank to go find the problem. I gave Neha my jacket and Stuart had his over shirt wrapped on his head.

"Oh looks it's the united colors of nerd. Do all of you guys work together?" The guy said gesture to all of us.

"Hey asshat, why don't you back off and go back to drinking with your middle aged group of drunken divorcees." I said making him laugh.

"I'd watch that mouth sweetheart unless you plan on letting me put something in it." He came back and dad stepped forward but Nick grabbed him.

"Whoa whoa! Take it easy. What are we the Jets and the Sharks? How about you guys head that way and we'll head this way and just call it a night." Nick offered and the guy nodded.

"Yeah that's a good idea." The lights went down and the strobes came on as the guy turned around and like that asshole that he was he took a swing but dad was quick to stop it. I felt arms go around my waist and pull my backwards.

"DAD! STOP! HE'S NOT WORTH IT!" I yelled and Nick punched the guy that tried to hit him from the side. I could hear Marielena scream and Lyle put her behind him so she wouldn't get hurt. Yo-Yo jumped on the bar and dove on top of the guys but they were quick to pick him up to start hitting him.

"MY MOTHER HITS HARDER THAN YOU!" He was drunk and would probably feel it later but he was taking it well. Someone jerked me by the arm and it caught me by surprised but before I could defend myself, Stuart tackled the guy to the floor.

"HEY! HANDS OFF BUDDY!" Stuart kicked the guy repeatedly and I grabbed his arm.

"Are you crazy?! That guy is like twice your size!" I said just as Neha kicked someone in the balls. She backed into me and I saw Lonnie the security guy coming this way.

"Be careful with them Lonnie, they're my friends." I begged and he picked Neha up and tossed her over his shoulder. They escorted us out and we got on the bus to calm down.

"We still need to figure out the app." Lyle said running his hands through his hair.

"I know a place we can go to clear our heads." I said before giving the driver directions. Somehow in the 20 minutes it took to get there, Yo-Yo and Lyle managed to kill an entire bottle of strawberry Bacardi. They were pretty out of it once we stepped off the bus.

"Wow this is beautiful." Neha said slipping my jacket on.

"How did you find this place baby?" Dad asked looking out at the bridge.

"I come out here after work most nights when I call you. It's easier to think and feel closer to you." I said hugging him.

"Well I'm glad I get to be here with you now." He kissed my head before walking towards the picnic tables with Neha. We dumped Yo-Yo on one of them and he groaned.

"Come sit with your old man and help me tell this girl that she's the whole package." Dad said opening up his other arm for me to sit next to him.

"Seriously, I'm starting to doubt whether boys can even see me. I mean I've never been with anyone, ever. I'm not getting any younger." Neha said making me laugh.

"You're beautiful and smart-" Dad cut me off.

"You've got some great teeth. Seriously, some beautiful chompers on the old girl." I elbowed my dad as Neha laughed.

"I'm always excited to see what kind of shoes you're going to walk in with." He added.

"You do have cute shoes." I agreed.

"I seriously love you two. If I could keep you, I would." Neha said and I reached over to take her hand.

"Look, whoever you find to stand on your arm is going to be a lucky guy." Dad said and Neha put her head on his shoulder.

"Now if only I could get my girl to give Stu a chance." My eyes shot over to him and Neha laughed.

"Dad! What are you-" He cut me off.

"I'm your dad, Abigail and I'm not blind. Stop worrying about your old man and cut the guy a break. Besides, I'm bigger than him." I shook my head embarrassed and looked over at Stuart as he talked to Nick. Maybe dad was right. Maybe I should make a move.

**[Stuart's POV]**

I stood with Nick looking out at the car lights on the bridge, finally dried off and starting to come back from the drunken mess I was in the club. I was too embarrassed to even look at Abby as she talked with Billy and Neha.

"Look at that view. Come on, you aren't going to see that on any 4 inch screen." Nick said making me shake my head.

"Yeah I guess." I said scanning the horizon.

"Hey, you were an animal out there tonight." Nick said and I laughed.

"Yeah sure." I kicked my feet on the ground.

"No you were. Did you have a good time?" He asked.

"Yeah it was alright." I glanced over at him as he sighed.

"Why do you do that?" He asked getting catching my attention.

"What do you mean? Do what?" I asked unsure of what he meant.

"Low ball me like that. I'm not going to take away your cool guy card if you admit you give a shit about something or God forbid you had a good time." Nick said as I tried to hide a smile.

"Alright it was fun...I'm not much of a dancer but I still had a good time." I confessed feeling his eyes still on me.

"What do you want me to tell you it was the best night of my life?" I asked knowing he wasn't pleased with my answer.

"Only if it's true." He said and I finally glanced over at Abby.

"It was the best night of my life." I said looking at him.

"My noogler!" Nick reached out for a fist bump and I fist bumped him.

"I also saw you totally save the day with Abby back there." I looked at Nick quickly and he laughed.

"So you've got eyes for her huh?" It wasn't really a question but I tried to play if off.

"I was just trying to get past her. It's no big deal." I said looking back out at the bridge.

"That's too bad because she's definitely into you." I jerked my head towards him with wide eyes.

"Did she...how do you...did she say something?" I asked desperately.

"She said a few things but if you're serious about talking to her then you should probably know that she's more sensitive then she let's people think. Just be honest with her. She's a great girl and you're a stand up guy Stewie. Just be you, big guy." Nick stood up and hit me on the shoulder as Abby walked over to stand next to me.

"You seem like you sobered up rather quickly." She said not looking at me.

"Compared to Lyle and Yo-Yo, I'd say I'm doing pretty damn good. How about you? You alright?" I looked at her bare shoulders and she smiled.

"I'm pretty good thanks to you. I mean I could have handled that guy but I appreciate you stepping in. It was very noble of you." She said making me look at my elbow.

"Well I got rug burn on my elbow that's driving me crazy but I suppose I'll take noble." I shrugged and she put her hand on my elbow.

"I'm sure I've got something for that. I get a lot of that...from dancing of course." She followed quickly when my eyebrow went up.

"If I tell you that you have a really pretty smile, can I chalk it up to the little bit of alcohol that's still in my system?" I asked making her smile.

"Yeah I guess I could let it slide." She nudged my arm and I looked down at my feet.

"You better stop being so sweet Twombly or else a girl's gonna think you're trying to take her out." Abby teased as I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah right." I said earning silence.

"So you're saying that you wouldn't ask me out? That's a bit harsh, even for you." She turned away from me and I looked at her shocked.

"Are you kidding me? Have you seen you? If I seriously thought I had a chance in hell I'd ask you out in a heartbeat." I said feeling my stomach drop out after saying it. She pulled out her phone and mine started buzzing in my pocket. I was surprised it even work after being drenched but I looked at it.

 **Text from Abby:**   
_What are you waiting for?_

I looked over at her and then back at my phone as she bit her lip.

"Wow- um okay. That just happened…" I cleared my throat trying to compose myself before looking over at her.

"Would you like to go on a date with me sometime?" I asked but before she could answer Lyle came stumbling out of the bushes.

"Lyle! Looks like you hit it off with your lady friend tonight." Nick yelled making us look over at him.

"I'm texting her that I love her and sending her this picture that I just took of little Lyle in the bushes when he was making pee." Lyle was super wasted.

"Oh wow please don't do that. She already likes you Lyle, don't break out the big guns just yet." Abby said as we walked over towards him.

"Seriously buddy that's a horrible idea. You are drunk off your ass right now." Nick added.

"I appreciate your concern but I'm flyin' baby." Lyle said making me laugh.

"Lyle, you're not flying. What's 17 squared?" Billy asked.

"289, why?" He answered and I shook my head.

"Give me a harder question, you know I'm driving with this." Billy looked at me.

"Try the square root of 17." I said and Abby looked at me proudly for some reason. Lyle gave a random answer and Nick laughed.

"That's the App. That's the app we should do right there. Some questions you've got to answer before you can send a drunk text, drunk email or phone call." Nick pitched.

"Something to protect you from yourself. I know at least 13 people that would buy that." Abby spoke up.

"That is good, can we do that?" Billy asked Neha.

"Hell yeahs we can do that!" Neha said excitedly.

"I could program the shit out of that on the bus ride home." Yo-Yo woke up long enough to say that before Billy clapped his hands together.

"Alright let's get back to HQ and get this puppy in the works." Everyone started to stand up but I wanted my answer from Abby and I knew once we got on the bus I wouldn't get one.

"Well hold on guys, let's just stay for a few more minutes...enjoy the view." They all looked at me strangely before shaking their heads.

"Yeah that sounds good." Nick said having my back as he sat next to Billy. I sat down on the other picnic table and patted the place next to me. Abby sat down next to me and her side touched mine.

"Did you want to take in the view some more or did you want your answer?" She whispered.

"Both. This is a really nice view. I wouldn't mind coming out here again." I admitted and she shook her head.

"Well then maybe when we go out, we can end the night here again." I nodded at her but then I realized what she was saying. I looked over at her stunned.

"Does that mean-" I started.

"YES YOU IDIOT! SHE MEANS YES!" Yo-Yo groaned. Abby laughed out loud before reaching back to pat Yo-Yo on the back.

"Yes I'd love to go on a date with you but I have one condition." She said making me look at her.

"Go back to headquarters and create this app...and win. As much as I'd love to take out angsty, snarky you, I'd much rather go out with you when you don't visually hate life." I laughed and she stared at me.

"If I told you that you looked cute when you laughed, can I chalk it up to the little bit of alcohol that's still in my system?" She said. I met her gaze and got the urge to kiss her but I resisted.

"Yeah I guess I could let it slide." I said making her look away.

"So we've got to win the challenge in order for me to win a date. You don't make it easy, do you?" I said shaking my head.

"Maybe I just believe in you guys." She said standing up and putting her hand out. The others started to get up and I took her hand letting her pull me to my feet. I stared down at her and could actually feel her breath on my neck. She wasn't as tall as me but she wasn't too short either. I think I had been lying to myself when I tried to convince myself I didn't want to know Abby that much but now that she gave me the chance to actually take her out, I had to take it. I needed not only a team win but a win for myself.


	5. Risk and Reward

**[Stuart's POV]**

I actually lost track of time once we started working on the app. Abby had actually fallen asleep at headquarters and Nick had finally taken her home once we got caught up in getting the app to go live. By the time any of us went home, we barely had time to shower. I felt like my head was going to explode and the sun was slowly cooking my brain. I put my beanie on and slumped down into a bean bag chair waiting for the others to arrive when I got a text from Abby.

**Text from Abby C:**   
_I just googled Hair of the Dog and the only good thing that comes from it is a Nazareth song. Which I can't listen to without my head feeling like exploding._

I tried to chuckle at the text but felt the numbness from my brain started to break into pain.

**Text to Abby C:**   
_I'm actually trying to beat gravity by lying upside down in chair, hoping to prevent puking._

I regretted sending that message instantly. She would probably think I was a lightweight or a total weirdo but before I could dwell too much my phone buzzed again.

**Text from Abby C:** _  
_Just the thought of being upside down makes me want to hurl. How's the elbow?_ _

I looked at my elbow and it was scabbing already. It didn't really hurt.

**Text to Abby C:**   
_I'll live…if this hangover doesn't kill me. Did you buy our app yet?_

I know we all texted her even after she went back to her place with the link but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

**Text from Abby C:**   
_Are you kidding? I bought it and pretty much spammed everyone I work and attend school with. If you guys don't win then the whole thing is rigged. I'd call shenanigans._

"How are you even smiling this morning? I feel like I was hit with sledge hammer." Neha startled me as she, Lyle and Yo-Yo walked up and sat down.

"The thought of even moving my face muscles hurts." Yo-Yo complained. He was clearly suffering the most out of all of us. I'd honestly never seen someone drink as much as he did last night. It was actually kind of impressive.

"Has anyone heard from Chetty yet?" Lyle asked rubbing his head.

"No not yet but Abby said she pretty much sent the app link viral to everyone she knows so here's hoping that helps." I held up my phone and caught a smirk from Neha.

"Breakfast gang! It's scientifically proven that a greasy breakfast will help a hangover. I googled it." Billy and Nick walked up to join us before she could say anything embarrassing though. I was thankful for at least that much of my dignity since I remember bits and pieces of how ridiculous I was at the club. I glanced at Billy as I ate quietly. I didn't really know to what extent he was okay with my talking to his daughter and typically I wouldn't care but something about this internship and Abby just felt right. I've never been an optimist. I'm a realist through and through but the feeling I got last night watching the cars pass on the bridge and just hanging out with seemingly good people. I wasn't sure how pathetic it was that I wasn't lying to Nick when I told him it had been the best night of my life. I finished eating and laid back in the chair covering my face once more.

"The whole world feels like a giant pinwheel of death." I said resting my hands on my chest.

"That's the price of making memories, Stewie." Nick spoke up. I felt my head pound slightly.

"I think my liver hurts." Yo-Yo groaned.

"Astonishingly your app received 10 times as many downloads than any other teams." Mr. Chetty popped up making me spin around in the chair quickly trying to pull myself together. We all looked at each other unsure of what he meant.

"It appears that you've won your first challenge." You could tell he really hated that we won but when Billy clapped his hands together he looked even more unimpressed.

"How bout it! Way to go team." Billy high fived Neha and me.

"It's just the beginning guys." Nick went to pat Yo-Yo on the back but he grabbed the trash can and started heaving into it. I fought the urge to puke myself as he pretty much puked his body weight into the trash bin.

"He gets overly excited. Just let it out big guy." Nick rubbed his back as Chetty walked away.

"We're still in this! I can't believe it." Neha said jumping up in down on the couch. I suddenly felt my stomach drop out. This win meant I would actually have to go on a date with Abby. To be honest, I haven't really ever been on a real date. I've dated before but it was never something to write home about. It usually ended with the girl pissed I wasn't paying tons of attention to her because I get bored easy.

"We should start working on teaching you two everything you need to know about computers if we plan to continue on the whole winning thing." I spoke up finally as Yo-Yo finished puking.

"That's actually a great idea. Let's get this guy cleaned up and we can get started. Teach us your ways young grasshoppers." Billy said handing Yo-Yo a napkin. Billy had called Abby to tell her the good news and I tried to ignore it. I even tried to ignore it when she sent me a text congratulating me personally. Eventually I sent a simple thanks back but as I was eating lunch and she sent a text about our date, I panicked and deleted it. I managed to dodge her all day and even the day after, making mention on Facebook that I had to brush up everything I knew about coding to help out the team. By Friday, I started getting texts from her that were a bit more annoyed.

**Text from Abby C:**   
_So are you like avoiding me now or are your not so subtle Facebook statues about being super busy supposed to make me believe you're actually too busy to return my text?_

I looked at the text and bit my lip before shoving it back in my pocket.

**Text from Abby C:**   
_Really? You're going to pocket me like that? Fine. Drastic times call for drastic measures._

I looked around until I saw that she was actually standing outside the glass door. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair and texted her back.

**Text to Abby C:**   
_I can't just get up and walk out. You can't just wait a little bit?_

She texted with what I could only call a scary grin on her face.

**Text from Abby C:**   
_I'm impatient and you're smart enough. You don't need more knowledge._

I chuckled lightly trying to hide from the instructor that I wasn't paying attention at all.

**Text to Abby C:**   
_Compliments won't get me out of here any faster._

I was starting to get annoyed and glanced over at her. She was wearing a low cut top that I couldn't stop looking at. She actually caught me and smirked before pulling on the front showing off her purple lace-trimmed bra.

"Oh my-" The vibration in my pocket made me jump and people started to stare at me.

**Text from Abby C:**   
_How about now?_

The muscles in my stomach started to clench and I knew the blush was rising in my cheeks.

"Is everything okay Mr. Twombly?" Chetty asked.

"Um- yeah yeah I'm good." I said leaning forward to text in my lap quickly.

**Text to Abby C:**   
_Give me 5 minutes…BTW you're the worst._

I glared at her as she smiled and wrote back quickly.

**Text from Abby C:**   
_You know just want to say to a girl to make her feel special, Twombly._

She walked out of view from the window and I waited a few minutes before asking Chetty to be excused to the bathroom. He didn't seem to care so I assumed the blush in my face made him think I was sick.

"Maybe less partying and more studying?" He yelled as I walked out of the room. I looked down the hall and saw Abby sitting on a bench.

"Wow after being in the club, I would have thought you wouldn't get so flustered over my bra." She teased me but I shook my head.

"Did you seriously just pull me out of that seminar to make fun of me?" I snapped watching her face change.

"Um no I was seeing why you decided to start avoiding me. I thought we had a date to-" I cut her off.

"About that…I know we were both drinking and it was all fun and games but you don't have to worry about it." I dismissed watching her face fall.

"Oh. So you don't want to go on a date with me?" She asked like she was clarifying.

"Look, we were lucky to win the last challenge and if we want to win this thing then I'm going to have to be on top of my game. Your dad needs all the help he can get and honestly it's probably a little more than unprofessional if I even consider taking you out so let's just chalk it up to drunken promises and call it a day." I realize how incredibly douchey I sounded the moment it left my lips and Abby just nodded her head taking it.

"Good luck with the internship, Stuart." She turned on her heel and walked away without even bothering to look back at me. I felt guilty but at the same time I regretted it. What the hell was I doing? It's not like she worked here and I'm not competing against her. I hesitated for a moment, considering going after her but I ended up going back into Chetty's seminar to be lectured and used as an example of screwing around.

I spent all of Saturday putting together Computers for Dummies books for Nick and Billy and having Lyle look over them for me. By Sunday, Yo-yo and Neha had taught them the basics.

"Holy shit you guys are actually using computers." I said amazing as I watched Billy open up different control settings on his laptop and fix things.

"We aren't dinosaurs Stuart. We are capable of learning new tricks." Nick said as Billy managed to shut down his laptop.

"Oh crap, what did I do? Neha boot me back up. I'm grabbing salsa." Billy walked out of the room and Neha sat down next to me.

"So how did your big date go?" Yo-Yo asked out of left field making me look up confused.

"That's right, Abby told me about that but I haven't heard about it yet. How did the date go?" Nick asked making me clear my throat.

"Actually we um...I decided that it would be better to just focus on the internship." I said earning confused and stunned gazes by all of them.

"You cancelled on her?" Lyle asked sounding upset.

"You cancelled on a girl who willingly volunteered to go on a date with you and looks THAT hot?" Neha reworded making me roll my eyes.

"Come on guys, I'm sure he's got a good reason." Nick defended.

"Are you gay?" Yo-yo asked randomly.

"What?! No! I'm not gay." I said throwing my arms out.

"Then your reason is invalid. What the hell is wrong with you?" Neha raised her voice.

"I'm a little confused here Stuart. I mean, it looked to me like you really hit it off. She was pretty excited when Billy told her we wont the challenge. What changed overnight?" Nick asked but I shook my head.

"We had both been drinking when I asked her. I didn't want her to feel obligated. Besides, you guys need me here. Billy keeps shutting down his laptop so he's going to need some extra help obviously." I pointed out as Billy walked back in with chips and salsa.

"What are we talking about?" Billy asked sitting back down.

"Stuart being a complete and utter moron." Neha spoke up and I jabbed her in the side.

"Oh lay off my boy Stu. He's working hard." Billy clapped me on the back and I looked over at him.

"He decided not to go on a date with Abby." Yo-Yo sold me out and Billy's grip on my shoulder tightened.

"Ow- B-Billy." I let my shoulder drop as he pulled me closer.

"Let him go, big guy." Nick stood up and pulled his hand off my shoulder.

"I'm trying to do the right thing here, plus I don't know the first thing about dating. You'd be even more pissed if she had wasted her time with me, wouldn't you?" I stood up and Billy shook his head.

"So you blow her off? That's you doing her some sort of favor? She asked me if it was okay with me if she went out with you. Why would you-" I cut Billy off.

"She asked you if it was okay? Why would she do that?" I asked confused.

"She wanted to make sure it wouldn't be weird for us to work together but honestly I think you're a stand up guy. She doesn't date a whole lot either, at least not that I know of. It's not like you'd be asking for her hand in marriage." Billy explained.

"So you would be okay if I went out with her? I mean you just death gripped me because I changed my mind. What if it doesn't work out and we get this job? What do we do then?" I asked curiously.

"You can't go into it like that. Just test the waters. Take it day to day and if things don't work out-" Billy cut Nick off.

"Then at least you got in the water." Nick put his hand on my shoulder.

"If you don't want to even give it a shot then that's your business but if you like her then man up Stewie." Nick said as I pulled my glasses off and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Fuck it. I'm going for it." I picked up my bag and tossed it over my shoulder.

"That'a boy! Jump in that water! Take a swim." Nick clapped proudly.

"Just keep your damn hands to yourself." Billy piped up. I ran out of the door and checked my phone. Abby had checked into a dance studio a few hours ago. I stopped at coffee shop and grabbed her coffee and some chocolate peanut butter cookies in case she didn't want anything to do with me and headed to the studio. The clouds started to roll in and I felt like I was off to a terrible start. I had no actual plan and now it was about to rain. I walked into the studio and saw a girl eying me.

"I'm looking for Abby Clark." I asked as she looked me up and down.

"Up the stairs, dance studio 3. Tell her I'm closing in 10 minutes." She gestured up the stairs and I gave a nod before heading up. I could barely hear music playing and assumed the rooms were sound proofed but when I looked in, I spotted Abby dancing almost majestically. It was a far cry from what I was expecting but I think I expected her to be more provocative and fast paced because of her working at the club but watching her dance now it was without words. She watched herself in the mirror as she moved her legs across the wooden floor without shoes or socks. Her hair was pinned up but falling around her face like she had been dancing for hours. I waited for the song to finish before opening the door.

"TIME'S UP ABBY! PACK IT IN!" The girl from the counter screamed startling me and making me fumble the coffee in my hands. Abby looked at me surprised and then annoyed.

"I um...Hi." I said trying to straighten myself out. She tossed me a towel.

"I suggest you clean that up because I'm not paying to have the floors cleaned." She said grabbing her water from her bag. She was clearly pissed at me.

"Judging by your not so sunny disposition, I'd say you don't really want to see me." I said wiping the coffee up.

"Aren't you supposed to be at a seminar for super tools or something?" She asked pulling on some jean shorts.

"Look I know I was an asshole the other day but can I at least get some points for admitting it or maybe some for bringing you treats." I tossed her the bag and she looked in it.

"Why would you bring me coffee when you don't even know how I take my coffee?" She said pulling on a white shirt over her sports bra.

"I thought everyone loved chocolate! Have a damn cookie, will ya?" I turned towards her as I cleaned and she glanced in the bag pulling out a cookie.

"I'm not sure what exactly you think you need to bring me coffee and cookies for. You don't have to make anything up to me." She killed the first cookie and started on the second. I stood up from the floor and put the towel in the big hamper bin.

"I was a jerk and you didn't deserve that." I said with a sigh as she finished the cookies.

"Agreed. Apology accepted." She grabbed her bag and walked past me.

"I also lied to you." She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me.

"About what?" I had her attention. Now I had to avoid blowing this.

"About keeping it professional. I...I don't know what makes you think I date a lot of people but I suck at this. Computers, software, cellphones...I can hack just about anything or reprogram your smartphone to play classical music but when it comes to actually being grateful that a girl like you even looks at me twice, color me a bit confused. And trust me, that's a lot for my ego to admit." I said trying to laugh it off in the end but she shook her head.

"I didn't want you to be grateful, I wanted you to..." She stopped herself and backed away from me.

"Did you even want to go out with me? I mean, I wasn't drunk when I made the proposal and I didn't really think you were either but if you didn't want to then you didn't have to say you did." I was surprised by her stance.

"I kinda just thought you asked being funny or giving incentive to win. I didn't want you to go if you didn't want to." I admitted as she scratched her neck.

"How can a guy who basically steam rolled me upon meeting and expected me to apologize, completely 180 in the matter of a few weeks? What happened to that guy?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"First off, I didn't steam roll you. If anything, you steam rolled me. Second, I'm the same guy but I'm not going to take a girl up on a pity date just because she had a moment of weakness." I started to raise my voice and she rolled her eyes.

"You are ridiculous." She walked out of the room as thunder clapped just outside. I followed her quickly and ran out the door behind her.

"You can't just walk away! At least let me call you a cab." Abby started to cough and rub at her throat as she called for one.

"If you came here to apologize then why are you still here?" She snapped.

"Because I wanted to take you out, like for real." I snapped back making her look over at me. Her face was starting to swell and her eyes were watery.

"Or not? I mean I don't want you to cry-" She cut me off.

"What kind of cookies were those?" She started to breathe heavy.

"They were chocolate fudge peanut butter. It was 3 for 5." She let out a laugh.

"You want to take me on a date? How about you get me to the hospital." She put her hand on her head and started to sway. I caught her and could feel she had the cold sweats.

"Holy shit! Are you allergic?" She nodded her head as she let her hand hold her neck. I called 911 and they arrived just as it started to rain. I had to lie and say I was her brother just so they would let me in the ambulance. They gave her a shot of something and she passed out but she seemed to be breathing better. They wanted me to answer all these questions about her but I had to hack her email just to answer some of the questions on the form. They had her hooked up to an IV for about an hour before she finally came around.

"Hey! Hey how are you feeling?" I asked standing up.

"I feel like those cookies were not worth this." Her voice was raspy and I handed her some water.

"I'm so sorry. I honestly didn't know." I felt terrible as she tried to sit up.

"Not really the best first date huh?" She joked. I bit my lip and ran my hand through my hair.

"What happened to your glasses?" She asked and I held them up.

"It started to rain and I was kind of rushing when the EMT's were loading you up. I dropped them and they kinda rolled you over them." I explained.

"Serves you right for poisoning me, I guess." She shrugged.

"Did you want me to call your dad? I tried to fill out your paperwork but I don't know anything about you yet." I said holding up the paper.

"Yet?" She questioned narrowing her eyes but before I could say anything the doctor walked in.

"Ms. Clark, it's good to see you awake. Your brother signed your release papers so you are free to go whenever you're feeling up to it but he promised to keep in eye on you for the next few hours to make sure your air ways stay open." I felt the blush creep up on my cheeks as Abby looked over at me.

"Thanks Doc." She smiled at him before pulling the sheets back. I stepped out long enough for the nurse to get the IV's out and got the prescription filled at the pharmacy in the hospital. I found her sitting in the lobby and jogged over to her.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. I got your meds. The pharmacists gave me some stuff for your throat too." I held up the bag and she stood up looping her arm into mine.

"Why didn't you just call my dad? I mean you didn't have to stay. I'm sure you've got other places to be." She said leaning on my arm as we got in a cab and she told the driver where to go.

"I accidentally poisoned you with my apology cookies and you passed out before I could actually take you out for a date. Besides, I promised the doctor that I would look after you." I shrugged. She remained silent as we came to a apartment complex. It was pretty nice set up and I helped her inside as the rain soaked through our clothes. The apartment was dark as she opened the door and she turned on the light next to the door.

"Wow...you have a really nice place. You live here alone?" I asked as she walked towards the closet and pulled out a few towels and a change of clothes.

"No I have two roommates. Lindsey is abroad for the summer and Britt is in one of those long term relationships where she only comes home to get more of her stuff to slowly move into her boyfriend's house." She explained tossing me a towel, a plain shirt and some sweats.

"So it's just you all by yourself?" I asked as she walked back and forth in the hallway with less clothes. I looked away and quickly dressed so she wouldn't catch me staring.

"I'm not alone now am I?" She came out in an over sized shirt and shorts.

"You can sit down if you want. I imagine your guilt is making you stay here under doctors orders." She gestured to the couch and I sat down.

"Maybe I want to be here." I pitched making her laugh.

"Maybe I really wanted to go on a date with you. Why is it so hard for you to believe that I might actually want to get to know you?" She asked making me shake my head but before I could say anything she put her hand up.

"Don't give me that "because you're hot" crap either because how I look has nothing to do with what kind of person I am. I hate getting up early, I hate shopping and a hobby of mine is taking care of my dad. I work at a night club but don't really do the whole party scene, I go to the movies alone on Sunday afternoons because it's cheaper and I listen to the oldies station when I drive to work. I'm not some young, hot dancer or whatever it is you've made me out to be. I'm just me." She explained as she folded her legs underneath herself.

"Wow you really are ordinary." I pulled a face and she hit my arm playfully.

"Honestly, I think it was more of me not wanting to get to know you because...I'm afraid I might actually like you. I don't have tons of friends, mostly because I can't stand stupidity and the list of girls who have literally thrown things in my face before telling me to piss off is probably about as long as my netflix queue. You handle my disdain and pessimistic attitude better than probably any female I know...other then my Mom, which should probably say something about myself." I rubbed my hands over together nervously.

"What changed your mind then? I mean you kind of went out of your way to get me to forgive you but you still haven't really asked me out again." She asked.

"Well I mean...do you still want to go out with me?" I questioned testing the waters. She looked me over before her face got serious.

"Are you going to get weird on me again?" She raised her voice slightly pointing at my chest. I was caught off guard, unsure if she was seriously pissed or not.

"Um…no? I mean yes, probably. I mean not more weird than I usually am I guess." She stared at me only making me more nervous.

"I feel like I misunderstood the question but all of that stuff I said prior to this moment I did actually mean." I said watching her face soften.

"Good. Then ask me out on a second date." I let out a breath and shook my head.

"Wow…you are…SO insanely hard to read." I said honestly as she got up from the couch and pulled some things out of the closet.

"I think it kinda turns you on." She teased making me grow flushed as I peaked at her nicely toned legs. I shifted on the couch as she dropped a pillow and a quilt. I caught her holding back a laugh.

"What's so funny?" I inquired.

"You have a tell, you know that? Your cheeks get red and splotchy whenever you get flustered. Right along here." She ran her fingertips on my face and I got chills from the touch.

"Yeah I know, I've always hated that." I admitted.

"I like it. It's cute." She plopped down next to me and handed me the pillow.

"I'm about to take this medicine because my throat is killing me. If I start to get wheezy or anything call my dad. Actually call 911 and then my dad." She said spreading the blanket out.

"So do you want me to just...crash here?" I asked unsure of what exactly she wanted me to do.

"I figured the least I could do to repay you for taking care of me is make you breakfast. How do you take your coffee?" She smirked resting her head on my arm.

"2 creams & 3 sugars." I said as she clicked on the TV. I sat stiffly as she settled in on my arm. I tried not to let her feel the tension in my body.

"Black with 4 sugars." She replied sleepily making me laugh.

"So you like sugar with a side of coffee." I joked earning a chuckle. I waited a few moments before she sat up and looked startled.

"This isn't working." She said making my sit up.

"Did you want me to go?" I gestured to the door but she shook her head.

"Kick your shoes off and lie down so I can lie down too." She demanded and I kicked my shoes off getting comfortable on the couch. She practically dove between me and the couch, resting her head and hand on my chest.

"Much better." She mumbled before dozing off. I waited almost an hour before I tried to wake her.

"Abby? Are you asleep?" I asked making her move slightly but she was definitely down for the count. I rested my hand on her back and pushed the hair out of her face to get a better view of her. She was drooling a bit but I didn't mind. I tried not to over think things and relax. I was actually pretty comfortable like this. I watched the TV until my eyes felt too heavy to hold open anymore.

I don't know how long I slept but when I finally opened my eyes the sun practically hit me in the face. Smells of bacon, eggs and coffee made me look back towards the kitchen to see Abby looking a lot better than she did yesterday.

"It's about time you got up. You're not going to have time to eat so I suggest you throw yourself a mc-go muffin together. Neha's already called twice." I put my feet on the floor and ran my hand through my hair.

"Nice bed head." She glanced over her shoulder at me and smiled as I trudged over to the table.

"I dried your clothes and got my neighbor, Marty to fix your glasses." She gestured to the plate and I held up my hands.

"I thought you said you weren't a morning person?" I groaned.

"Not on the weekends. This is Monday. I have work and 4 classes to teach today. Plus I took a shower and ate already." She was moving around so quickly you would have thought she was on something. She picked up something wrapped in a napkin and hit me in the chest with it.

"Try this?" She said making me take it from her.

"You don't know how I like my eggs." I said putting the English muffin to my lips and taking a bite.

"Well typically you find that out after sex but-" I started choking slightly before regaining my composure.

"S'good. What is it?" I asked chewing the sandwich up as Abby put her shoes on.

"Bacon and raspberry jam. It's something my mom always made." She smiled at me before handing me my clothes.

"Are you kicking me out?" I asked her confused.

"No but I don't want to be late so you'll have to let yourself out. I don't want to rush you or anything." She put her hands up to stop me.

"Who goes to a club this early?" I questioned.

"Drunks and pervs." She laughed.

"Finish your breakfast and get dressed. Just make sure you lock up and put the key in my mailbox downstairs." She grabbed her bag and I nodded.

"Glad to know you aren't worried about me snooping." I joked realizing how creepy it sounded.

"You wouldn't do that. Not after getting a second chance, which by the way you still have to actually set a date for our second date." She pointed out.

"Um...dinner tomorrow?" I suggested.

"Make it Wednesday and I can meet you for drinks first." She said making me smile.

"It's a date." She opened the door and walked out of it. I let myself smile now that I was alone but it only lasted for a minute when she came back through the door and walked over to me, putting a hand on my left cheek and kissing the right one.

"Thanks for taking care of me last night." She said inches away from my face.

"Thanks for giving me a second chance." I replied as she ran back towards the door and waved. I felt like it was a moment of triumph. I couldn't believe she actually gave me a second chance after I was a dick and then poisoned her. It all seemed to be falling into place pretty easily. Almost too easy.

"Oh crap." Now I actually have to go on the date. I was doomed.


	6. Be My Baby

**[Stuart's POV]**

I walked into headquarters to find Neha working with Yo-Yo and Lyle on something that I wasn't sure I even wanted to be a part of but the moment she spotted me, she threw her hands up.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get ahold of you." Neha was clearly upset but I just batted my eyelashes at her noticing the costumes on Lyle's laptop.

"I don't think cosplay is an emergency." I sat down on the couch pulling out my phone and going to Abby's Instagram. We had been texting the night before about how stiff my Instagram pictures had been. Apparently stupid things I see on a daily basis came off as cynical and impersonal.

"No but this Google Costume Social is." I looked up at her as she stood with her hands on her hips.

"What? I didn't get an email for the next challenge." I pulled up my email and she knocked my phone out of my hand.

"It's not a challenge, it's a social event. All the teams are suppose to mingle with the summer staff. They're going to be watching to make sure people gel well and I swear if you point out that that rhymed I'm going to punch you." She turned and pointed at Lyle.

"Where are Billy and Nick if this is so important? I don't see you trying to track them down." I asked curiously.

"They're off getting their costumes. They've literally been here and gone. I'm trying to help these two figure out what they're going to be while you've been jerking it to Mallrats or something." She put her hands on her hips.

"Why do I even need to go? It's not like it counts for anything?" I threw my hands out.

"It would help our team get acquainted with everyone. On the off chance we actually get these jobs, it would be nice to have some people who are already working here on our side." Neha said as Lyle looked over at me.

"I'm pretty sure Abby will be here. She's a summer hire." Lyle caught my attention.

"I doubt it. I mean she teaches a dance class, that doesn't really count." I said texting her.

**Text to Abby C:**   
_Hey are you going to this Google costume thing tonight?_

She didn't text back right away but I tuned Neha out until she did.

**Text from Abby C:**   
_Yeah I promised Marielena I'd go with her so she didn't have to go alone. She's helping me find a costume that fits right now._

I tried not to let my mind linger to Abby texting me half naked but a second text snapped me out of it.

**Text from Abby C:**   
_See you there?_

I started to panic a bit sending a quick text back. I had no idea what to wear to a costume party. If I didn't dress up, I'd look like a dick and if I did then there's a good chance I'll make a fool of myself.

"Are you evening listening to me?" I looked at Neha who was practically yelling in my face.

"I need a costume." I said in defeat. Lyle and Yo-Yo let out a sighs and I jumped to my feet.

"I'm going to punch you." Neha growled.

"I'm on board but I don't want to dress up as anything stupid. I'm not going to embarrass myself for the sake of your Star Wars sex fantasies." I said making Neha back off a bit. She glanced down at my phone and rolled her eyes.

"So you basically want to go now because Abby's going." She said walking back towards Lyle.

"What? No I never said-" I started to defend myself but she laughed.

"First off, you're the worst liar I've ever met and second, she's going to be something sexy, hands down. I don't think I'll have time to turn you into something she'll actually find equally sexy." Neha said looking me over.

"I'm not asking you to make me Spartacus, I just want to be something ridiculous." I said.

"I doubt you have the abs for Spartacus." Neha swiped.

"Oh my God, forget it. You are useless." I threw my arms up and Neha knew I was in no mood.

"Fine! I'll help you but you get 10 insults. If you exceed 10, I'm kicking you in the balls and leaving you with a Waldo costume." Neha warned and I nodded my head.

"That sounds fair enough." There was a moment of silence and she let out a sigh.

"Just to be clear, Waldo wouldn't work for me?" I gestured to my face and Neha glared.

"I have my work cut out for me." She pinched the bridge of her nose and I got up to follow her over to the computer with the others.

**[Abby's POV]**

I weeded through more of the costumes that were on the wall while texting Stuart. I seriously thought he knew why I pushed our date until Wednesday but he seemed surprised about the costume social tonight. Lena cleared her throat and I looked up to see her dressed in a Miss Muffett costume that came up to the middle of her thigh.

"I'm sorry but can you tell lover boy that we are having bonding time right now?" She said putting her hand on her hip.

"Lover boy? Really?" I put my phone in my pocket and laughed.

"Well you haven't said much about him but you're always attached to your phone now. Spill it girl." She tried to fluff out the bottom of her dress.

"We haven't even gone on our first date yet. There isn't much to tell yet." I said shrugging.

"Wait, you slept with the guy and he hasn't actually taken you on a proper date?" She questioned making me roll my eyes.

"He spent the night, I didn't screw him. Besides, I told you he only stayed because I was sick and he felt responsible." I explained.

"Because he was. A guy can't just give a girl cookies without knowing what she's allergic to." Lena teased and I hit her leg with the plastic cane I pulled off the wall.

"I don't know what it is about him that interests me but I really want to get to know him." I said genuinely.

"So is this a summer thing or do you actually like this guy enough to keep him around?" She asked making me bite my lip. I didn't really keep a lot of boyfriends. Hell I wouldn't be able to ever recount one full length healthy relationship I've ever actually had but I didn't want to just walk away from Stuart. If there wasn't a spark, I could still see us being friends.

"Uh oh, you're over thinking things." Lena snapped me out of it.

"What are you talking about?" I asked shaking it off.

"Wow you're really into this guy huh?" I didn't know what to say so I smiled.

"Don't talk yourself out of it this time. Let the summer play out, have fun and spend time with your dad. Whatever happens, happens. I'll be here and so will the girls." Lena bumped my arm and I smiled.

"This costume trip became serious pretty quickly." I joked before pulling the Snow White costume off the wall.

"And you should definitely go with Snow White. Miss Muffett makes you look like a milk maid or something." I teased and she let out a sigh.

"Well I'll be Snow White if you be Red Riding Hood. You've got sexy legs, show em off girl." She bumped my hip and I grabbed the Red Riding Hood costume and started browsing through the other accessories. By the time we had checked out, we were already running behind schedule. Thankfully, they cancelled our dance classes at headquarters to prepare for the social so it gave us time to get ready. I was nervously pulling at the bottom of my dress once I had put the whole thing on. I decided to simply braid my hair and Lena insisted on doing my makeup.

"Why are you fidgeting? You look hot!" She swatted my hand away from my top as she finished up my eye shadow.

"I'm just not sure about being this exposed at headquarters. I mean it's not like we're at the club." I pointed out earning a strange look.

"It's a costume party, Abs. I doubt you'll be the most scandalous one there." She defended.

"It's a costume party at Google. Does that scream sexy to you?" I asked as she pulled me to my feet.

"I don't know. Let me Google it." She winked at me and pulled on my hand.

"Screw boundaries. We're going to go to that party, have some drinks and try to reel in some more people to take the dance classes. Hopefully we'll get enough to do weekend classes. Let's just have fun tonight." She said grabbing her purse. I snatched my keys and tried to shake the nerves as we drove to headquarters. There were already a good amount of people there and Lena took off to hand out business cards with our dance session hours on them. I felt someone brush against my arm and smiled until I saw it was Graham.

"That is quite an outfit. Tell me, do you teach your classes in that?" He asked with his arms crossed over his chest as he stood tall with a Thor costume on.

"Thor? Really? You honestly think you have the clout of Thor?" I rolled my eyes and he leaned in towards my neck as if he were smelling me.

"He is a God isn't he?" I stepped away from him and made a noise as if I were about to barf.

"Please get away from me before I vomit." I put my hand up and he laughed.

"You know, it's hard to believe that you're William's daughter. He seems more laid back with our banter, you just seem defensive." Graham touched one of my braids and I slapped his hand away seeing my Dad walking in with Nick.

"You want to see me get defensive? I'd gladly kick your ass if you put your hands on me one more time." I threatened and he merely smirked before walking away. I tried to shake off Graham's creepy advances as I walked over to my Dad.

"Wow Abby, you look great." Nick said giving me a hug.

"Thanks! We decided to go fairy tales instead of something nerdy." I said putting my hand on my hip.

"I'm sorry what exactly are you supposed to be?" Dad eyed me and I looked down at my costume.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?" I asked unsure of what was wrong with it.

"Well I'm not sure what it is because it's not red riding hood. I'm pretty sure that story was about a little girl not a stripper named candy cane." Dad was being his typical overprotective self and I just sighed.

"Come on Billy." Nick patted him on the shoulder.

"For the record, if your grandma was still alive she'd probably be a little offended considering the story was about the wolf eating the grandma." I couldn't help but laugh at my dad but before I could say anything Neha ran up to us.

"Oh my God! Abby you look super hot. I love this!" She took my hand and spun me around.

"Thank you Neha. I'm glad someone appreciates it but look at you! You're about the sexiest Leia I've ever seen." She was decked out in the golden bikini Leia and my dad and Nick's costumes suddenly made sense.

"Don't I know it. Sid gave me his number in case I needed some help with my hard drive. I'd let him take care of my hard drive alright." Neha nodded her head and I followed her gaze across the room to Sid, who I'd met getting lunch one day after Mr. Chetty shut him down about a smoothie machine. I saw Lyle and decided to make a break for it.

"Well I'm going to go see if I can find some candy canes to hand out with my dance session cards." I teased pulling my top a bit lower just to annoy my dad.

"That's not funny Abigail! That's not funny at all." I heard him yell across the room. Lyle was dressed as Marty McFly which made me smile. He had his eyes on Lena as she talked with a few people by the drink table.

"Hey! You look awesome!" Lyle jumped when he saw me and then laughed nervously.

"Thanks! It was something that came up in conversation with Marielena that night at the bar. I figured she'd appreciate it." Lyle said taking a shaking breath in.

"Yet you're standing over here and not going up to her?" I asked as he watched her.

"I should have known she was going to look that good. She's like my very own Daenerys Targaryen. All I want to do is grow my hair out and cut people's heads off for her." My eyes went wide as Lyle talked absent mindlessly.

"While I appreciate a good Game Of Thrones reference, maybe you shouldn't just say the first thing that pops into your head aloud. Just for security purposes." I said making him flustered.

"Seriously Lyle, you've got to relax. You look great and Lena already thinks you're a great guy for standing up for her. Just be yourself." I rubbed his back and he took a long chug of whatever was in his red cup.

"Okay, I can do this." Lyle said bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I happen to know that she's been pretty bummed because she's had to work every night Game Of Thrones has been on so she's behind this season." I said making Lyle finally look at me.

"I have them all DVR'd." He said hopeful.

"Looks like you have your in. Sweep her off her feet." I smiled. He got giddy a bit before finishing his cup and handing it to me. He strutted off towards Lena and I watched her face light up as she saw him. I honestly thought Lyle and Marielena would make a great couple. We were faced with all sorts of jerks at the club but it was always cocky jerks that seemed to approach us in our dance classes. I think Lyle would be a nice change for Lena and I was hoping maybe Stuart would be a good test run for me to actually try to focus on more than just school and my dad. I glanced over and saw Neha dancing with Sid while Dad tried to talk Yo-Yo into drinking. I tried not to wonder where Stuart was but as I stood at the bar my phone beeped.

**Text from Stuart T:**   
_Someone looks lonely._

I smiled at the text and glanced around the room.

**Text to Stuart T:**   
_Must you be a creeper?_

I sent the text and looked around the room again finally spotting him. He had flattened his hair and was wearing a black leather jacket, black skinny jeans and a black shirt. I started laughing and he fixed his hair.

"What's going on Fonzie?" I said making him laugh.

"Funny but no." Stuart rolled his eyes.

"For the record, Chachi was hotter." I continued to tease. He looked at me confused.

"Do you seriously not know who I am?" He asked surprised. I shook my head and he cleared his throat before putting his hand on my arm.

"Nobody puts baby in the corner." He quoted raising his eyebrows.

"Wow…Johnny Castle. That's…pretty cute. Have you ever actually seen Dirty Dancing?" I questioned.

"What? Of course I've seen it. It's a classic romantic dance movie with Patrick Swayze." He made wild gestures with his hands and I tried not to laugh in his face.

"That sounds like you got as far as the summary. Can you tell me Baby's real name?" I tested him and it took a matter of seconds before his face fell and he gave up the charades.

"Fine I didn't watch the movie. This was kind of Neha's idea and she kept saying I couldn't pull it off so like a dumbass I took that as a challenge." I smiled at him and shooed his hand away as he continued to mess with his hair.

"So you dressed up as Johnny just to impress me?" He rolled his eyes and didn't say anything. I couldn't help but smile.

"Can you not rub it in please? Gloating doesn't really look good on you." He nudged me. I reached up and fixed his hair before kissing his cheek. I pulled away to see him look surprised.

"Well whenever you're ready to get out of here we can go back to your place and watch Dirty Dancing on Netflix because that was a very sweet gesture and my undergarments are killing me." I said trying to adjust without looking unladylike. Stuart choked on his drink before sitting it down and holding his hand out for me to take. I took it and he started to lead me through the crowd of people.

**[Stuart's POV]**

As we got closer to the door, I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Billy. I instinctively dropped Abby's hand.

"Hey! You made it! Neha was telling us that you were rocking the badass Swayze look. I can dig it." Billy said handing me another cup. I glanced over my shoulder and Abby looked at me like she now realized why I dropped her hand.

"Hey baby, don't drink too much in that dress. We don't need anything popping out, am I right?" Billy was getting pretty tipsy as he laughed and Abby just shook her head. She started to pull at her costume and I handed her the leather jacket seeing a bit of confusion at first but after she realized what I was doing she smiled, mouthing her gratitude. We were both pretty much forced to mingle for the next two hours until Billy had finally wandered off with Neha and Sid. I nursed a beer the whole time, not really wanting to get super wasted. Abby seemed to be doing the same thing. I looked over at her just in time to see she was adjusting her costume. She looked at me like she had gotten her hand caught in the cookie jar and I just laughed.

"Don't mind me." I waved her off and she glared.

"Shut up. I could kill Lena for picking this costume out but it does help get the cards out better." She said holding up the cards in her hand. I took one from her and saw it was for dance lessons.

"I'm pretty sure you could give these away wearing anything." I pointed out but she shook her head.

"If there's one thing I've learned working at the club it's that skin sells. People can ogle me in a costume or a bikini but not so much if I'm dressed like something remotely nerdy or funny." She seemed almost ashamed to admit that.

"I was wondering about that at the club. I mean some of those ladies were pretty..." I was gestured to my chest.

"Exposed?" She chuckled.

"Yeah. Do you...I mean-" I couldn't figure out how to create a sentence all of the sudden and Abby put her hand on my arm.

"I don't go topless. I also don't do private dances. In the mornings I bartend and I dance in the evenings but my boss respects that I don't want to go that far with it. I just don't want to lose that part of myself." She explained.

"Which part would that be?" I asked curiously.

"What's under the clothes. I can dance sexy in my underwear but at the end of the night they know that they will never get whats underneath. The girls who give private dances and go topless get paid more but I don't think I could ever just give that part of myself away. I want what's underneath to be for exclusive access only." She smiled and I felt my mouth go dry.

"Well I hope to get to see what's underneath...not like your clothes but your personality...not that I'd mind to see you naked...but only when you're ready to be naked in front of me, I mean no pressure or anything. OH MY GOD!" I literally had to put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from talking and Abby just laughed.

"Something tells me you don't get flustered like this with other people." She said once she could breathe.

"I don't and I kind of hate it." I said trying not to smile but she made this face like she thought it was cute.

"You sure know how to make a girl feel special, Twombly." She smiled. I remember the last time she said that to me, I was a complete ass and she ditched me. I didn't plan on making that same mistake again as I looked down at my feet.

"I'm not sure how I feel about you liking all the things I hate about myself like my stupid blush and my uncontrollable ranting." I admitted.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you two things about myself I hate?" She questioned.

"Possibly." I said interested in what her answer would be.

"Okay well for a dancer, I've always felt like my feet were too big. My dad always says that it gives me better balance but I hate when people stare at my feet." She said kicking her heels on the floor nervously.

"And the second thing?" I pressed.

"I fluster you but you make me nervous." She tugged on one of her braids and I furrowed my eyebrows together.

"Nervous? Why do I make you nervous?" I asked baffled.

"Because I talk to tons of guys on a daily basis and you're the only one that I genuinely get excited to hear from." She bit her lip to try and hide a smile but I couldn't hide mine. She shoved me and I chuckled.

"Don't be smug or I might change my mind." She warned.

"I'm not trying to be smug. It's just weird to hear I guess. Most people don't really get jazzed to hear from me. Mostly just my mom." I said pulling a face. I glanced around the room and looked back at Abby.

"We could probably sneak out of here if you want? I think we've socialized enough for Chetty's liking, considering he left like an hour ago." I crossed my arms over my chest and Abby looked around herself.

"Marielena drove so I'll probably need to call a cab plus I still have to say goodbye to my dad. He's a worrier." She said taking a step in her heels and wincing.

"I'll call the cab and meet you out front?" I said reaching into my pocket to pull out my phone. I watched her cross the room and almost tripped going down the steps as I called for a cab. I waited for a few minutes before someone's laugh made me turn around.

"Looking a bit lonely there, Twombly. Bailing on your team? I would if I were you." Graham had his arm draped over some drunk girls shoulders.

"You know the more you talk in that accent, the more I feel like it's actually bullshit." I grinned.

"Don't be salty, lad. We all strike out sometimes...well I don't but keep trying." He laughed in my face but before I could say anything Abby pushed past him.

"Okay I can't stand it anymore! Let me borrow your shirt." She asked making me look at her strangely but she winked. I pulled the black shirt I had on off, I had a long sleeved gray one on underneath so it wasn't a big deal. She handed me my leather jacket back along with her purse before reaching behind her and unzipping her costume. My eyes went wide as she let the dress hit the ground leaving her in some sexy lingerie, stockings and heels. She pulled the black shirt out of my hands and pulled it over her head before slipping the jacket back on over top.

"Much better. Thanks." She kissed me on the side of my mouth and I shook my head clutching her purse. Graham cleared his throat and she turned around.

"Oh Graham, didn't even see you there." She smiled letting her arm snake around my waist pulling me closer.

"I'm sure you didn't." Graham looked annoyed.

"Well we'd love to chat but our cab is here." She bent down to pick up her costume and I looked towards the night sky to avoid staring at her ass. She shot back up and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the cab. She jumped in and told the cabbie where to take us as I got in behind her. She looked over at me.

"Was that too much?" She asked making me glance over at her but all I could do was laugh.

"I'm sorry I just really hate that guy. He's just-UGH! I'm sorry if I embarrassed you." She apologized covering her face.

"No, no he's a dick. I'm not embarrassed...a little shocked and turned on but not embarrassed." I chuckled and she seemed relieved.

**[Abby's POV]**

We talked about a few different things on the ride back to my apartment but when we pulled up he asked the cab to wait for him.

"It's only 10." I pointed out and he shoved his hands in his back pockets.

"I wasn't going to invite myself in. Despite my firm opposition to your views on female superheros, I do have some manners." He teased.

"Well how about you come inside, I'll order pizza and we can watch Dirty Dancing since you so nobly tried to portray one of the hottest 80's heartthrobs in a shirt too big and pants not nearly as tight." I offered making him laugh.

"So would that count as our first date or are we still on for tomorrow?" He asked making me roll my eyes. I paid the cabbie and walked towards the apartment.

"Pizza, beer and movies isn't a date unless you're in an awesome relationship. Consider this a reward for the costume." I opened the door to my apartment and he followed me in.

"But if I get pizza and beer too then don't I have to give you something?" He questioned as I pulled the beer out of the fridge and handing him one. He took it and pulled the cap off.

"You aren't about to offer me sex are you?" I asked making him spit his beer a little. I turned the TV on and turned the light on in my room.

"Sometimes I think you say things just to get a rise out of me." Stuart's words made me turn around and look at him. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"That was...horribly phrased." He added.

"Order the pizza, nerd. I'm going to change." I pulled out some clothes but he knocked on the bedroom door.

"I don't actually know what you eat? It's kind of like a coffee order so-" I stopped him putting my hand up.

"The number for Sal's Rocky Mountain Pizza is on my fridge. Tell them it's for Abby Clark, they'll know what to bring. Sound good?" I said making him nod his head before he walked away from the door. I quickly changed out of my clothes and looked in the mirror. I fixed my makeup and took my hair out of the braids trying to make it look more full and sexy like Lena always made it whenever Vince let me have a solo dance night. I had no idea why I was trying to look over the top for pizza and beer but I kind of felt like I wanted to make sure Stuart was actually excited about the date and not just in it to score with me. I know it's messed up to test him like this but I had to protect my heart. That was my number one concern with dating. I fluffed my hair one last time before opening the door and walking out. Stuart had just hung the phone up and smiled.

"Food will be here in a few minutes." He looked over at me giving me a smile. He now had his glasses on and it looked like he might have tried to fix his hair. I plopped down on the couch and let out a heavy sigh before wince at the pain in my feet.

"What's wrong?" He asked pinning his eyebrows together as he sat down on the other side of the couch.

"I should have worn my own heels. Lena's feet aren't as big as mine so my feet are pretty much destroyed." I rubbed at my foot and Stuart tilted his head to the side.

"Let me see it." He gestured to my foot and I eyed him.

"Just give it here, I'm not going to hurt you." He said and I pushed my legs out. He grabbed a hold of my left foot and started to rub it. I pulled back slightly and he looked up.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked and I buried my face in my hands.

"No but I don't need you to rub my feet. I mean that's weird isn't it?" I said trying to gauge his reaction but he shook his head.

"I don't think your feet are huge like you do. So if you can get past your insane big foot complex then I'd like to pay you back for saving my ass in front of Lord Doucheington." Stuart was being serious. I felt myself blushing but kept my hands up to my face.

"Fine." I let him pick my feet back up and rest them on his thigh. He had soft hands but used firm pressure that made me want to groan. I let my eyes fall shut and leaned my head on the pillow of the couch. He massaged from the heel to the middle of my foot and I felt chills run up my legs into my lower back.

"Mmm you have really good hands." I said hearing him chuckle.

"I never thought a woman would say that to me...well at least not rubbing her feet." Stuart said rubbing the balls of my feet.

"Well you keep rubbing them like that and I might be saying that for something else." I said opening my eyes realizing what I had just insinuated.

"For the record, I think you have cute feet." Stuart's words made me look at him. He wasn't making fun. He was being serious. He had taken my insecurity seriously and didn't make fun of me like other people have. I smiled at him but he didn't even realize what it actually meant to me. The knock at the door startled me and I jumped up.

"I'll get the pizza. You should wash your hands." I practically ran to the door paying for the pizza and trying to focus on not losing my cool. Stuart washed his hands and returned to the couch with two more beers in each hand for the two of us. Once we were set up on the couch I look over at him.

"So Dirty Dancing...let's get on that." I turned back to the TV and pulled up Dirty Dancing. I could feel the smirk on Stuart's face but didn't want to bring it up. He was definitely getting under my skin and I was surprisingly okay with it.


	7. 20 Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because this is the first official date for Stuart and Abby, I decided to do it in third person. I know I keep changing it up but please stick with me here.

It was only a few minutes into the movie when Stuart got a call from someone important enough to send him out the door apologizing. Abby stared at the pizza and hoped that this wasn't a sign of what's to come. Before she fell asleep her phone rang.

"Hey I'm really sorry I ran out earlier. My mom was calling." Stuart explained out of breath.

"It's okay, I figured it was important. I hope everything's okay." Abby started to feel bad about thinking the worst in Stuart without letting him explain.

"Oh no everything is fine. She was just trying to warn me about my dad calling. It's no big deal." Stuart brushed it off.

"Well I guess you can tell me more about that tomorrow if we're still on?" Abby tested hoping Stuart wouldn't back out of the date.

"What? Yeah of course we're still on. Unless you don't want to?" Stuart said nervously.

"No I just wanted to make sure we were still planning to go out. I mean we didn't really firm anything up." She pointed out.

"Did you want me to tell you what I had planned or-" Abby laughed at Stuart.

"You don't have to but if there are water sports or something fancy planned, I might need to know." Abby joked making Stuart rethink all the plans to make sure he didn't give her bad information.

"No water sports or fancy dining, just dinner and some casual conversation. I'm helping Nick with some coding stuff until 5:00 but I can meet you at Google around 6:30. Does that work?" Stuart asked feeling his nerves resurface. He was never really one to plan a date, or go on dates but all the ideas Neha had suggested seemed too over the top for a second first date. He didn't want to have to worry about being over dressed or doing something embarrassing so he settled on walking the Fisherman's Wharf pier and having dinner at a cozy restaurant overlooking the water. He figured it'd be nice by the time the sun went down and there would be plenty of things to distract them if conversation tanked.

"Sounds great. I'll see you then." He could actually hear Abby's smile through the phone and the tension in his body released a bit. He tried to remain calm and relaxed for the rest of the day but it was proving to be difficult for the both of them. By the time Abby's shift was over, she had broken 14 glasses behind the bar. Lena shook her head as she watched Abby fix her makeup for what seemed like the 100th time in the dressing room mirror.

"It's weird to see you this nervous over a guy, Abs. Typically it's school nerves or getting another job nerves but never over a guy." Abby wiped the lipstick off her mouth and looked at Lena.

"Honestly, I don't think I've ever been this nervous about a date before. Maybe I shouldn't be dating right now though? I mean I have to get that money by the end of the summer or I'm going to lose my spot at school. I shouldn't be worried about some guy I've known for a few weeks right?" She questioned herself and Lena sat down in front of her, taking her hands.

"Honey, since I've known you you've always been about school, work and your dad. You deserve to live a little. This guy has clearly caught you attention which shouldn't be ignored considering how tough that is based on your insane focus with the first three things. You look gorgeous. Take a deep breath and get your sexy ass out of here so you can go on this date. If it's a flop then I won't even bother trying to set you up anymore but give this guy a shot. I mean if he's anything like Lyle then it's worth it." Lena smiled and Abby knew Lyle would be jazzed to hear that Lena was so into him. She took a deep breath and stood up ready to give this whole dating thing a shot. She left the club and headed over to Google. She waited in the car for a few minutes before she saw Stuart jogging over towards her.

"Hey! Sorry, Billy had me on the phone running down everything that could get me beaten to death." Stuart said shaking his head. He looked different. His clothes were much more casual then they usually were and it looked like he'd flattened his hair out for some reason. He was also without his glasses.

"You look…different." Abby said making Stuart swallow hard.

"Thanks? I told you it was casual right? I mean you look…great." He gestured to her outfit and she snapped out of it.

"Not bad different, wow I'm already doing really well here." She put her hand to her forehead.

"It's strange to see you so untailored I guess. That and the whole no glasses thing." She circled his face with a hand gesture and he shook his head.

"I shouldn't wear them so much, my eyes are started to depend on them. I'm wearing contacts right now." Stuart explained putting his hands in his pockets nervously. Abby nodded and started to play with her keys.

"Why do I feel like you're more nervous than me?" Stuart broke the awkward silence and Abby let out a breath.

"God I know! I'm sorry I'm being such a spaz." Abby covered her face and Stuart laughed.

"It's also kinda weird that you being more nervous makes me surprisingly relaxed." Stuart boasted making Abby cut her eyes at him.

"And just like that my nerves are gone because of your ego." Abby teased.

"Wow if I play my cards right I could probably have you loving me and hating me by the end of the night." Stuart opened her passenger door and got in the car as Abby shook off her smile. She followed his directions and knew pretty quickly that they were going to Santa Monica Pier. She smiled as she parked the car and Stuart gave the parking attendant a tip.

"Are we spending the rest of the evening here?" She asked making Stuart shrug.

"Well yeah I mean there's plenty to do here. Is that a problem?" Stuart asked walking to the first restaurant on the corner of the pier.

"Not at all. I haven't been to the pier in a long time." Abby followed Stuart into the restaurant and they were seated pretty quickly. They each got a beer and ordered their food before actually looking at one another.

"Would it be completely cheesy of me to ask if you come here a lot?" Abby spoke up making Stuart chuckle.

"I've been here once or twice with my mom. She visits me and likes to be around the masses." Stuart explained.

"That's sweet." Abby smiled.

"So how was work?" Stuart asked regretting it instantly.

"We are really kinda crappy at this aren't we?" Abby pointed out making Stuart sip his beer.

"Don't get me wrong, I want to get to know you but I have no idea where to start." Stuart admitted.

"How about we play 20 questions then? You get 10 and I get 10 and we'll save the deep ones for another date." Abby offered making Stuart's eyebrows go up.

"Already planning ahead I see." She rolled her eyes and he nodded.

"Alright first question…what's your favorite color?" Stuart asked folding his arms on the table. Abby looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"Seriously? That's your first question?" She asked making him smile.

"I'm warming up, answer." He pressed. Abby rolled her eyes.

"My favorite color is purple." She said making Stuart laugh.

"Explains the bra from before." He mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" She tested but Stuart shook his head.

"I believe it's your turn." He sipped his beer again as Abby sat back in her chair.

"Are you originally from California?" She asked making Stuart shift in his chair.

"No I'm from the East coast actually but the moment I got accepted over here, I bailed. The only thing I really enjoyed about being home is going to Mets games." Stuart said making Abby smile.

"I don't know if that's sad or not considering the Mets are horrible." Stuart cut his eyes at her and she put her hands up.

"How about you? Originally from here?" Stuart asked curious even though to his knowledge from his Facebook stalking she was from California.

"Yeah pretty much up and down the West coast but I was pretty excited when my aunt moved to New York. I think the city is beautiful in the winter so I try to make sure to drag my dad out there for the holidays to spend time with her family. Her kids love my dad." Abby smiled.

"I can see that. I mean Billy seems like he can pretty much work any audience." Stuart remembered the night at the restaurant where he had the entire place rolling on his jokes.

"Do you have any siblings?" Abby asked seeing Stuart's body language change as their food arrived.

"Yeah I have two older brothers." Stuart started twirling his spaghetti and Abby awed.

"You're the baby! That's pretty cute." She smiled.

"Trust me, they don't let me forget it either. Both are pretty much the polar opposite of me and make me wish I was an only child." Stuart made a face like his family might be a sore subject.

"Don't say that, I wish I wasn't an only child. I feel like if I had older siblings then maybe I wouldn't have to worry about my dad so much." Abby said making Stuart laugh.

"Junior is the golden boy and despite Russ being a complete joke, he still manages to stay in my father's good graces. He worries more about me wasting my life here than my actual well being." Abby reached out and put her hand on top of Stuart's making him look up at her.

"Maybe we're not in the right environment to really open up about family issues. Ask your next question and we'll come back to that when and if you're ready." Abby suggested surprising Stuart. There was only one or two other girls he'd talked about his family and they'd always acted like he was wounded or something. He hated people thinking they could fix him somehow but Abby was different. She didn't look at him like something was wrong with him. She let go of his hand and he snapped out of his funk remembering he was on a date.

"Yeah so um, I was wondering something. Is Abby Clark like your stage name or something? I mean I know Billy's last name is McMahon so I was just curious." Stuart picked his fork back up and Abby looked down at her plate.

"It was my mom's maiden name. She was globally ranked in the top 100 for dancing but when she got pregnant with me she decided to become an instructor instead. I figured if I was going to follow in her footsteps, I'd keep her name like it's a part of her legacy." Abby explained.

"I'm surprised your dad is cool with that." Stuart said shoveling spaghetti in his mouth before looking at her.

"After she died he said he didn't really mind. I think it gave him a piece of her to remember forever." Stuart choked and took a drink of his beer quickly. Abby gave him a sympathetic smile at his sudden reaction. It wasn't the first time she's had to deal with people who didn't know about her mom.

"Abby…I'm really sorry. I had no idea." Stuart apologized and she shook her head.

"It's not something I lead with but thank you." Abby finished eating her spaghetti and Stuart was mentally scolding himself for not digging deeper into her family history. He suddenly felt like such a brat. He was complaining about how shitty his home life was yet her mom was dead.

"Stop beating yourself about it." She nudged him out of his thoughts.

"My mom died right before I got out of junior high. You've got that look on your face like all the kids who said a Yo mama joke and remembered she had died. It's really okay. The name change helped me avoid the whole Abby the Man jokes by high school anyway." She joked snapping Stuart out of it and leading him into his next question.

"Are you insinuating that you didn't get asked out a lot in high school because I'm going to call bullshit." Stuart said as the waitress brought the check. He took it quickly and before Abby could argued he gave her a 50$ bill and told her to keep the change.

"I was a theater geek in high school. I mean I played some sports and my dad would always come and make a spectacle but dancing has always been my top priority. I think you and I would have probably gotten along in high school." Abby stood up and followed Stuart out of the restaurant back to the boardwalk.

"I bet you were one of those super genius in high school. Making everyone wish they could be even remotely half as intelligent as you." Abby teased but Stuart shook his head.

"I hated high school." He said as they pushed through a crowd of people. Abby grabbed his arm to hold onto so they didn't get separated and made it through the crowd.

"Why did you hate high school?" She asked curiously earning a shrug.

"Junior left high school at the top of his class, star quarterback and all around town hero. Russ was a class clown who had a gift with numbers. He once got busted gambling and was able to charm the principal into letting him work his punishment off in the tutor center where he gambled kids out of prom funds. By the time I got there, no one cared about another Twombly boy. I tried to fit in anywhere I could but it's like they had already left their mark there and I wasn't good enough. I remember…I tried out for baseball and the team seemed to be really supportive of me trying out but it turns out they thought I'd make a better punching bag then pitcher." Abby watches Stuart put his hands in his pockets and tense up.

"After they threw me in the batting cages with nothing but a catcher's mask on, I pretty much decided that there was no point trying to fit in anywhere. I didn't want to be a jock like Junior or an ass like Russ. If people didn't like me then they'd find a way to avoid me or deal. I got involved in something that none of them could touch and that just happened to be computers. I learned as much as I could and when I got accepted to college across the country, I bailed." Stuart explained and Abby wished she'd known Stuart in high school.

"No wonder you hated high school." Abby said lightening the mood and causing Stuart to laugh.

"I kind of feel like I'm bombing this date with my apparent need for therapy." Stuart joked but Abby enjoyed him opening up to her.

"Personally, I'm glad we got the bad stuff out on the table already. I'm ready for your next question to change this whole thing around." Abby clapped her hands together.

"Okay steering away from our families and our formative years…" Stuart thought aloud as Abby prepared herself for his next question and it seemed to hit him suddenly.

"So why don't you date? I mean I doubt it's because guys don't ask you out, especially in your line of work." Stuart's question made Abby laugh out loud.

"Wow thanks but I don't typically date the people that come into the club and I'll remind you that I keep most of my clothes on." Stuart gave Abby a look like she knew he didn't mean to offend her.

"Why don't _you_ date? You're not horrible to look at and you're fairly smart." She asked in return making Stuart's eyebrows go up.

"Don't lay it on too thick or anything." He glanced over at Abby and she seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Seriously, you're kind of a catch." She said but Stuart bit his lip. He always figured the guard he put up with everyone was to blame but he knew it was just who he was.

"I'm also an asshole. Most of the girls I date don't get past the first date without looking at me like I've just insulted everything they stand for and it's not intentional, that's just how I'm wired I guess." He shrugged it off but Abby seemed to disagree.

"Maybe you're just a particular taste. I mean yeah you say things that most guys wouldn't say out loud but you're also pretty sweet. I don't think any guy would have bought coffee and cookies as an apology unless they… really liked the girl." She blushed as the words came out of her mouth and Stuart didn't say anything. She was really the only girl who'd stuck out his shitty behavior and actually cared to know who he really was. Abby looked up at the Ferris wheel and back at Stuart.

"Wanna go for a ride?" She asked and he just nodded his head.

"I'm um...digesting. Maybe later." Stuart tried to play it off and Abby crossed her arms over her chest.

"Are you afraid of heights?" She questioned making Stuart look at her.

"I'm pretty sure it's my turn to ask the question." He gesture for them to keep walking and Abby didn't argue. They walked along to the board walk until they hit sand.

"I've always loved the beach. I don't know why I don't come more." Abby said as she slipped her shoes off to carry in her hand.

"Yeah I tend to burn fairly easy so I try to avoid the sun." Stuart spoke up making Abby laugh. She tripped and he grabbed her arm before she completely bit it.

"You know, I'm starting to think the dancing thing is a hoax. You are the clumsiest dancer I've ever met." Stuart help dust her off and she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Well maybe you should come see just how coordinated I am sometime. Maybe I'll teach you some things." Abby glanced over at Stuart who tried to hide his chuckle. She grabbed his arm to stop him and he looked at her.

"I'm sorry this has been bugging me." Abby started messing with his hair trying to unflatten it and he laughed.

"I was wearing a hat earlier." Stuart said as she finished messing it up.

"Much better." She continued to walk next to him before they found a good spot to sit down.

"So how important is this internship for you? At first you seemed like you were already pretty defeated but you've seemed more determined then ever now." Abby asked.

"That job is pretty much the only thing that keeps me from going back to a life I don't want. The life my father wants for me is to join him and my brothers in the family business but I just don't want to be apart of that. I love computers. I love technology and the endless possibilities and the advances. I want to be apart of something that could change the world." Stuart appeared to be very passionate when he talked about technology. It was something that Abby admitted in him.

"As opposed to..." She made a gesture with her hand.

"Twombly & Sons: Architecture and Remodeling. It's been passed down through at least 5 generations. My dad in young and after Junior came back from Iraq, with a medal, he joined right along behind him. My dad doesn't think what I do will get me anywhere. He thinks hard work is work you do with your hands, like I'm some sort of softy or something." Stuart seemed mostly disgruntled with his father when he talked.

"He's sounds pretty old school." Abby pointed out trying not to cross any lines.

"He is. He lives in a world of black and white. High school jock, married his high school sweetheart and went into the family business. I see the world in-"

"HD color?" Abby joked making Stuart look over at her and smile.

"What about your dad? Do you always get along?" Stuart asked making Abby rest her elbows on her knees.

"You've met him, he's like a giant man child. It's hard not to love him." She shrugged but Stuart looked like he was waiting for her to follow it up with something.

"He's all I got in this world. You only get one dad and no matter how much he might drive me crazy, I love him and I know I'd do anything I could to make sure he's happy." Abby rested her chin on her hand and Stuart cocked his eyebrow at her.

"You sound more like the parent to be honest. What would your dad do if he found out you worked on the bar instead of behind it?" Stuart's words made Abby rub the back of her neck.

"Honestly? I don't know. It'd probably break his heart. He tries really hard to make sure I can afford school but just being a bartender and teaching classes at the studio goes mostly to bills. I work overtime and mornings to try and make sure the money for tuition is there but dancing is the only thing that gives me the tips to go towards tuition. They constantly tell me that I'd make what I needed in a week if I did private dances and went topless but I'd like to save the whole half naked grinding for someone special." Stuart was blushing and trying not to be completely obvious as to how much he'd love to be that guy but Abby nudged him.

"Well what would come after school? I mean you finish your schooling and then what? What do you want to do?" Stuart asked curiously. He knew that you could get a degree at a regular school and possibly get a job in that field but he had no idea what you'd do with a degree in fine arts.

"I'd be okay with teaching. My mom loved to teach me and my friends how to dance. She was such a classical dancer but she loved the self expression and freedom you could have outside of just being a ballerina. I want to teach other people a way to use their body to express themselves. If I can help just one person feel what I feel when I dance then it'd be worth it. She was everything I hope to be." Stuart smiled at Abby as she talked about her mother. He knew his own mother would really like how alive and spunky Abby was and almost considered inviting her to the stupid wedding but it seemed too soon for all that.

"You know we've talked about your family and my family but you haven't really talked about your own mom." Abby pointed out.

"That's because I love my mom." Stuart joked.

"Ah so you're a momma's boy are you? That's pretty adorable." She teased but he had no shame.

"Yeah yeah, she's the only one that doesn't make me feel like I'm a giant outcast. She tries to send me money all the time but I make sure to work it off with side jobs like fixing people's WiFi or hacking. She's probably the only thing I actually miss about home." Stuart admitted making Abby put her hand on his knee.

"You should visit her more than. Screw your brothers and your dad. I'm sure she'd love to see you more." Stuart kept watched her rest her hand on his knee for a few moments before clearing his throat.

"Oh I'll see her soon. Junior is getting married at the end of the summer so the whole family is moving into the beach house until then which is kind of a nightmare but it'll be nice to see my mom again." Abby's eyes went wide.

"Your family has a beach house? What part of New York are you from?" She laughed.

"Hampton, New York. Yeah my dad designs and builds homes for the wealthy but he's a firm believer in saving your hard earned money. My mom likes the beach so he bought her a family home here for special vacations. Juniors fiancee loves it here so that's where the wedding is going to be." Stuart looked at Abby to gauge her reaction but she just nodded her head.

"Wow. It kind of sounds like we both have a lot on our plates." Abby realized how critical that sounded and Stuart kept his eyes on her.

"Yeah I guess we do." She then turned her head and met his gaze.

"Do you really think that this is a good idea? Not that I didn't have a really good time tonight because this has actually been one of the best dates I've ever been on but I don't want to distract you from the internship now that I know how important it is to you and I have a lot of thing's I have to do by the end of the-" Abby was cut off by Stuart's lips. The kiss was so sudden that Abby almost lost her balance on the log they were sitting on. Stuart wanted to keep seeing Abby. Despite how nervous and frustrated she makes him, he really enjoyed hanging out with her tonight and didn't want to just let her put it end to it before it even began. It only took a moment to realize her lips weren't really responding to his kiss. Stuart opened his eyes and pulled away from her quickly realizing what he'd done.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just attack you like that." Stuart apologized and Abby laughed catching his attention.

"That was a bit unexpected." Abby said seeing how flustered Stuart's cheeks were.

"I guess we should probably. I can catch a cab-" Abby jumped to her feet as Stuart rubbed the back of his neck.

"Will you relax? It's okay. I didn't hate the kiss but next time warn a girl. I do need to get home though. I have the morning shift." Abby said making Stuart shove his hands in his pockets again. She realized he walked like that when he was unsure of himself. She added it to the list of things she learned about him tonight while Stuart stewed in his own shame. He couldn't believe he had blown such a perfect evening. He'd never had a date go this well and he pretty much threw himself at her instead of just telling her that he wanted to keep seeing her. They got back to the boardwalk and while Abby slipped her shoes back on, Stuart spotted a stand with fiber optic flowers. He glanced back at Abby as she wiped the sand off her feet and knew he had enough time to buy the flower and put it in his pocket. He also grabbed her cotton candy to try and turn the date back around. She laughed as he approached with it.

"Don't worry I'm not going to make you get on the Ferris wheel. No need to binge on the cotton candy." She teased him and he handed it to her.

"What you were saying before...about being too busy and not wanting to distract me...I don't consider you a distraction. Tonight has actually been the first night where I didn't feel completely disgusted with the way thing's are going. I didn't have any doubts about getting the job or worry about my family flying in. I had a lot of fun." Abby took the cotton candy and smiled.

"So did I." Stuart let Abby drive him to his place after a long debate and Abby was surprised to see him living in an apartment that wasn't nearly as nice as hers.

"Not what you were expecting huh?" Stuart nodded his head and Abby scrunched her face up.

"Not really no but I try not to judge a book by it's cover. Maybe the bedroom is really nice." Abby joked and covered her face immediately when Stuart started laughing.

"See you aren't the only one who's mouth does things without thinking." She said.

"So I know that you're going to be really busy with work this summer but I got you something to remind you of tonight. Consider it my way of making sure you can't really forget me as an option." Stuart explained.

"Yes because I have so many suitors." Abby wiggled her eyebrows but when Stuart pulled a purple flower form his pocket that glowed around the edges of the petals, she was speechless.

"It's a fiber optic lily. I don't know what your favorite flower is but I know you like purple. The flower made me think of how you described dancing. It just sort of flows beautifully even though it's still. Plus the fiber optic technological advances these days are growing vastly more complex so I figured that could remind you of me." Stuart gave her a nervous smile before she took the flower into her hands.

"I'd really like to take you out again, Abby. You should give me a call when your schedule frees up." Stuart opened the passenger door and left Abby speechless as he walked into his apartment complex. Abby touched the glowing petals and couldn't help but smile. She'd been on dates where the only thing the guy was interested in was how flexible she was as a dancer but Stuart actually listened to her talk. He made her laugh and didn't judge her lifestyle. She bit her lip trying to think of what to do next.

Stuart walked into his apartment and saw that he had 2 messages on the machine. He hit the button.

"Hey honey, it's mom. I just wanted to let you know that your father is going to call to remind you about checking up on the beach house. We will be flying in next week and I'll make sure to give you a call when we land. Try not to let your dad get you too frustrated. Love you little bear." The answering machine clicked to the next message.

"Stuart, I'm sure you've already forgotten but I need you to make sure the house is cleaned up for our arrival. Think you can find time in your busy life to drive down and check it out or do we need to call someone to do it for you? Get back to me." Stuart flopped down on his couch and shook his head.

"Love you too dad." He let out a sigh. He couldn't believe how awesome the date had gone but he hoped his exit wasn't too dramatic. Abby didn't really say anything but she seemed happy about the flower. He was pulled from his thoughts at someone knocking at the door.

"Roberta, I just got home. Can I fix your computer tomorrow?" He yelled through the door but was only answered by another knock. He pulled himself up from the couch and opened the door not expecting to see anyone but his 75 year old neighbor who struggled with Microsoft Office. His eyes went wide when he saw Abby standing there.

"Hi." She said rubbing the palm of her hand with her finger tips.

"Hey, is everything-" Before Stuart could ask if she was okay she grabbed his face and kissed him. Stuart let go of the door to rest his hand on her wrist as he kissed her back but he felt like he was dreaming. When she finally pulled away he tried to get his lips to stop moving like an idiot.

"Thank you...for everything. I had a really great time tonight and the flower is beautiful." She said taking a deep breath. His mouth continued to move but no words could be formed.

"And I would love to go out with you again...soon." She smiled and Stuart nodded his head. She licked her bottom lip before backing out of his doorway and giving him an awkward wave as she exited the building. Stuart shut his door and leaned against it still in shock from what had just occurred but once he finally realized that Abby was totally into him he did a rapid fist pump that he will forever deny if he's ever questioned. He pulled out his phone to see Abby had updated her Facebook status with a picture of the flower saying:

Best. Date. Ever.


	8. I Wanna Hold Your Hand

The week following the date was pretty busy for both Stuart and Abby but that didn't stop them from texting and talking on the phone every waking moment. At first, Stuart was worried about having things to talk about since they talked so often but the conversation never seemed to die out. It took a week for him to have her schedule down pat. He knew when she would be working the bar and when she would be teaching classes at the dance studio. Stuart's schedule was a bit more spontaneous. The only thing that seemed consistent is how much he talked to Abby and the time he spent at headquarters. Stuart had done all he could to avoid the teasing from his group but whenever he looked at his phone now Neha ribbed him. Abby sat on the couch in the rented apartment that Billy and Nick were living out of eating dinner with her father when he noticed how much happier she seemed.

"So I guess things are going well with old Stu, huh?" She cut her eyes at her father.

"Dad-" Billy laughed cutting her off.

"What? I can't ask about your boyfriend just because he's on my team?" Billy threw his arms out.

"We've been on like one successful date. He's not my boyfriend." She pushed her salad around on the plate.

"But you wouldn't mind it if he was." Billy said with a questionable smile. Abby rolled her eyes.

"It's a little too soon for all that. Can we please change the subject?" She offered making Billy plop down on the couch with her.

"I don't know why you don't think you can talk to me about this. I mean we never really talk about who you're dating. I think this is a nice change of pace for the both of us." Billy said making Abby laugh.

"Us?" She questioned.

"Yeah, you putting yourself out there and me actually working at being a hands on dad. I think the move here would be good for us." Billy reached out and put his hand on Abby's shoulder. Abby thought about what her dad was saying and she realized him moving here permanently would be great, Stuart finishing school and moving closer would be pretty cool too but it would all be for nothing if she couldn't keep her scholarship.

"I think that would be pretty great. I missed having you around." Abby leaned into her dad and spent the rest of the night talking about all the things she learned about Stuart. The next morning she woke up rested and ready for work only to see a pretty disgruntled tweet about Instagram and Vine.

**StuartTW:** _Okay the whole Vine fad has now bled over onto Instagram with these new Instagram videos and I can't say I'm happy about it. Whatever happened to picture is worth a thousand words?_

Abby laughed aloud as she moved around the bar to make a tweet of her own.

**AbbsC:** _Just made my first Instavideo of my new routine for the club._

Abby sent it and waited a few minutes with her elbows resting on the top of the bar. It only took about 5 minutes before her phone started ringing.

"You think you're cute don't you?" Stuart's voice sounded amused and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't even try to lie, you totally went to my Instagram and tried to sneak a peek." She accused but Stuart just let out a sigh.

"Yeah well I've been to the club you work at. Any dance routine you come up with for there I'd pay to see." He said instantly regretting how creepy that might seem but Abby just smiled.

"Oh is that right? Why would you pay for it when you could just come to the club and see it in person. You may even get lucky and leave with one of the dancers." Abby teased.

"Wow that sounds like a sweet deal. I might have to take your suggestion." Abby could hear Stuart's smile through the phone.

"So how is volleyball bonding? Dad said you took some balls to the face." Abby said hearing Stuart huff out a laugh.

"Yeah don't tell him but I faked an injury. There was a really cool webpage tutorial I wanted to go to that actually starts in a few minutes." Stuart explained.

"Sounds like a blast." Abby said with little enthusiasm.

"Oh you have no idea. So can I see you tonight?" Stuart asked making Abby bit her bottom lip.

"Sure. If you take a cab to the club I can give you a ride home. Maybe I'll even talk you into taking your first Instagram video." She smirked.

"Don't hold your breath. I've got to go, I'll text you later." Stuart hung up the call as a couple other people walked into the tutorial. Abby scrolled through all of her social networking sites and couldn't help but look through Stuart's profiles. His smile always seemed different in pictures of him with other people. It was more of a force or smug smile rather than a genuine one. There were a few pictures of him as a kid that he was tagged in and you could tell his smile was genuine whenever he was with his mom. There weren't any pictures of his father with the exception of one family picture but you could tell that Stuart was the oddball among the boys. She was interrupted by a tweet alert.

**StuartTW:** _Okay I stand a little corrected. I'm not against the whole Instagram videos...especially if there's a hot bartender/dancer in them. But I still won't be taking one._ **  
**

Abby laughed out loud and Marielena looked over her shoulder reading the tweet.

"You've been on one really awesome date and you're both getting sickeningly sweet already." She bumped Abby's hip with her own.

"He's pretty sweet when he's not being an ass." Abby shrugged.

"I guess it's a good thing he's got a nice ass." Abby's jaw dropped and Marielena laughed as she walked away. Abby finished her shift and headed to Google Headquarters for her afternoon class only to find out it was cancelled. Lyle came wandering into the dance studio with a smile on his face.

"Hey, no class today?" Lyle asked seeming a bit more chipper than usual. Abby expected it had something to do with the picnic Lena had been telling her about last night on the phone. It was nice to see her find such a great guy.

"I guess not. You sitting out of the webpage tutorial thing? Stuart said it was going to be a pretty awesome class." She asked seeing Lyle shift uncomfortably.

"Um yeah...nope I must have missed that one." Lyle rubbed the back of his neck and Abby realized he was avoiding her eye line.

"So are you going to tell me what the deal is or do I have to beat it out of you?" Abby stepped closer to Lyle crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

"It's nothing...he's just trying to work some things out." Lyle stepped backwards.

"Lyle..." Abby pushed.

"He's just working on improving his finances." Abby narrowed her eyes as Lyle hit the wall.

"Lyle!" She raised her voice and he put his hands up.

"Fine! I'll tell you but you can't tell him I told you." Lyle looked around like Stuart might be lingering near by.

"Apparently he is struggling with money right now so I set him up with some gamer friends of mine to do controller mods." Abby cocked her eyebrow.

"Why exactly is that a big deal?" She asked confused.

"I don't know. We were playing some volleyball earlier when his phone went off and his dad was shouting at him through the phone. Even without speaker phone the guy came through pretty clearly. I offered to help him out but he kinda blew me off until about an hour ago. He asked me not to say anything about it." Lyle explained. Abby felt almost guilty that Stuart felt the need to lie to her about what he was doing. She pulled out her phone and bit her lip.

"I'm going to need your help with something." Abby looked at Lyle and somehow he knew that whatever she was about to ask wasn't going to be easy.

"How are you at hacking Instagram?" Abby asked before grabbing Lyle by the front of his shirt and dragging him out of the dance studio.

 

* * *

__

Stuart sat sending the last of his emails to Lyle's online friends. He had walked one of them through putting gun mods on his controller for Call of Duty and another he actually had to get them to stop by HQ so he could do the mods himself. He finally got to catch his breath around 2PM while avoiding the team. He really wanted to go up and see how Abby's class was going but knew that he would be far too distracted to get back to work if he did. She had a way of making all the stupid things easier to deal with. As if she could hear him though, his phone beeped with a text.

**Text from Abby C:  
** _You should probably check your Instagram…just saying._

Stuart pinned his eyebrows together confused by the text but closed it out before opening up his Instagram to see a video posted on his account. He hit the play button seeing Abby run into frame.

" _Are you recording? Okay. This is an instavideo by yours truly taking your instavideo virginity in the only way I know how. Interpretive dance._ " Abby danced around awkwardly making Stuart laugh. Once she was finished she took a dramatic bow and started to twist her arms around strangely.

" _I hope it was as good for you as it was for me. Now turn around._ " The video ended and Stuart took a second before turning around. Abby was standing a few steps up smiling at him.

"You hacked my Instagram? Really?" He held up his phone as she shrugged and smiled smugly.

"Yes, yes I did and now you shall go to lunch with me now because you're not only impressed with my hacking abilities but it's polite considering I took your instavideo v-card..." Abby crossed her arms over her chest as Stuart turned his body towards her.

"Wow tell me what else I think." He teased. Abby held her hand out and Stuart took it, letting her help him up but he didn't let go.

"I think you've worked enough for today and should come have lunch with me since my class was cancelled." Abby started to pull on Stuart's hand and he smiled.

"I like the way I think." Stuart laced his fingers into Abby's and walked next to her as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. They'd gotten just to the lunch area when Billy, Yo-Yo and Nick came around the corner. He immediately dropped Abby's hand and she looked at him confused.

"Hey guys! Interested in some volleyball? I know Stuart's a power hammer on the spikes as long as he's not taking it to the face. How about you Abs?" Nick asked tossing the ball around.

"Actually we're just going to get some lunch. I'm still sort of seeing double after earlier so..." Stuart gestured to his face and Billy patted him on the shoulder.

"Well then next game we'll get you a helmet or some really cool goggles for those glasses." Stuart shook his head at Billy's suggestion before Nick kissed Abby's cheek and they ran off. Abby kept her gaze on Stuart until he looked at her.

"What?" He questioned as they picked up food on their trays.

"You do know that my dad is aware we've been on a date right? I mean it's not like some huge secret." Abby said pointedly.

"Yeah I know." Stuart wasn't picking up on why she was confused so she decided to drop it. They find a table and sit down. Stuart leans over and opens Abby's water for her making her smile.

"So you've been telling Billy how awesome a date I am huh?" Stuart teased nudging her out of her silence.

"Oh yeah of course. I told him you were a gentlemen and a scholar and that I only let you get to second base." Stuart choked on a laugh.

"Second base? Why don't you just tell him I've picked out names for future children already." Stuart took a bite of his pizza.

"I'd hate to freak him out. The idea of him being a grandfather would probably make him have a meltdown. Plus he'd probably want to murder you." Abby popped another fry into her mouth.

"So how was work this morning? Did the morning drinkers get their fix of boobs, boners and bourbon?" Stuart asked.

"Of course. Lena asked if I wanted to work tonight to make a few extra bucks but I was thinking maybe a movie instead." She offered making Stuart smile.

"I think you're the only girl I know who would rather be inside on Friday night instead of getting wasted and puking in their purse." Stuart made Abby cringe.

"I work in a bar where people do that all the time. How does that surprise you?" She questioned with a laugh.

"Touche." Stuart picked up his pizza again and Abby touched the red mark on his head.

"You weren't kidding about taking a ball to the face. Does it hurt?" She asked making him shake his head.

"No not really but the second one knocked my glasses off so I pretty much decided it was time to sit out before I have to sell my body on the streets in order to afford new glasses." Stuart joked but Abby pulled at his shirt a little.

"What's the going rate?" She teased before he grabbed her hand.

"I'm sure we could make a deal." Stuart shifted forward like he might kiss Abby but stopped short.

"Good afternoon Abigail...Stuart." Graham had two girls walking with him. Stuart pulled his hand from Abby's and she looked at him.

"Graham." Stuart said annoyance obvious.

"You know, I was thinking of taking your dance course. I don't see nearly enough of you around here." Graham looked her up and down making Abby squirm.

"I honestly don't think you could keep up." Abby said squinting at him only making him laugh.

"Oh love I think I could keep up a lot better than most." Graham's gaze fell on Stuart who shook his head.

"Don't you have a tool convention to be at?" Stuart asked. Graham laughed before looking back to Abby.

"I'll be seeing you Abigail...Stuart." Graham walked away leaving Abby and Stuart in a tense silence.

"I'm just going to put it out there now but I'm almost 85% sure his accent is bullshit." Stuart said but Abby didn't say anything. He looked over at her and could tell by the clenched jaw she had that she wasn't happy.

"Did I just shatter the mystery of his accent or is there another reason why you have that look?" Stuart gestured to Abby's face.

"What look? We've been on one date and you think you suddenly know my looks?" Abby said stabbing at her fries with a fork.

"Well if the look didn't give it away, you stabbing your lunch and snapping at me did." Stuart said with wide eyes as she dropped the fork.

"Is there some strange reason you don't want to be seen holding my hand?" Abby asked making Stuart squint.

"What? What are you talking about?" He had no idea.

"Twice today you've let go of my hand like I burned you and right before Graham walked up, you were either passing out or about to kiss me but for some reason it's like you can't bring yourself to do it when others are around. Why is that?" Abby asked making Stuart shake his head.

"Maybe I'm not a fan of PDA. It's not personal." Stuart shrugged.

"It feels pretty personal. It's also really embarrassing so if you don't know how you feel about PDA then maybe don't go for a kiss." Abby got up from the table.

"Abby, will you just sit down and wait a second? You are freaking out for no reason." Stuart was about to reach out but stopped himself. Abby saw him resist as he looked around.

"Just forget it. I'm going to get a few more hours in at work. I'll just talk to you later or something." Stuart watched Abby walk away and he put his head in his hands.

"What the hell?!" Stuart said aloud unsure of how such a nice lunch turned into a shitty one so quickly. He tried to finish his lunch but ended up trashing it when he got an email reply from one of Lyle's friends. He knew he didn't really have many places to go and he wasn't trying to home just yet so he just went back into HQ to work on more IT stuff. He had looked through his contacts for a while before hitting #2 on his speed dial. It rang a few times before the voice picked up the phone sounding winded.

"Hi honey! I didn't think I'd hear from you today. Is everything alright?" Stuart let out a sigh hearing his mother's voice. No matter how far away she was, she was always a comfort to him.

"Yeah everything's alright. I just kinda wanted to ask you a hypothetical question." Stuart propped his leg up before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well I might have a hypothetical answer. What's going on little bear?" She asked sounding as though she had sat down to settle into a conversation.

"Okay so hypothetically, if I were to have started dating someone-" A gasp came from the other end of the phone cutting him off.

"You started dating someone? Who?" Stuart rolled his eyes.

"Mom...it's a hypothetical." Stuart reminded.

"Right, sorry." She stopped talking.

"If I were to have started dating someone and I really like her but I'm not so sure of how to handle-"

"Honey do we need to have the safe sex talk?" She interrupted again.

"Mom! No! God I can't even get past the hand holding aspect of it. Sex isn't the problem." Stuart shook his head and then realized where he was, lowering his voice.

"Maybe she isn't comfortable with PDA?" His mom suggested making him sigh.

"That's just it, she seems to enjoy the hand holding but every time someone gets close to us I drop her hand like I'm doing something I'm not supposed to." Stuart explained.

"Well she isn't married is she?" Stuart thought his mom was joking but her tone said otherwise.

"No she's not married but she's the daughter of one of the guys in my internship group. I mean he seems cool with it and...and I just don't know why I get this feeling like I'm going to puke if someone see's us holding hands or kissing." Stuart explained feeling defeated.

"Sweetheart, feeling nervous about something like that isn't unheard of. You've never been really comfortable with being touchy feely with anyone so don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure if you just explained it to her she'll understand." Stuart thought about how disappointed Abby looked at lunch and bit his lip.

"She thinks I'm embarrassed to be seen with her or something which I think is ridiculous because she's...a total knockout. I almost feel like it's a set up or something." Stuart said sadly.

"Baby, you aren't in high school anymore. Sometimes really beautiful girls feel just as insecure as the boys who don't think they're good enough but as your mother, I'm telling you that no one is too good for you." Stuart chuckled.

"I don't suppose you have any suggestions on how I can make things right?" Stuart asked curiously.

"Just be honest with her baby. Stop being so critical and over analyzing it. Just hold her hand and if it makes you feel happy then you know it's right." Stuart shook his head looking at his watch.

"Thanks mom. Sorry to bother you-" She laughed cutting her son off.

"You are never a bother so don't start that but in this hypothetical world, does this girl have a name?" Stuart rolled his eyes.

"Her name is Abigail...Abby." Stuart said feeling the warmth in his cheeks just mentioning her name. He talked for a few more moments with his mom before she started going into talks of giving him another check, to which he decided to bail out. He took a cab home so he could change his clothes but his phone beeped again.

**Text from Mom:**   
_Give this a listen then decide._

There was a link to a YouTube in the message and when he opened it up he had to laugh. I Want To Hold Your Hand by The Beatles filled the back of the cab as he pulled up to his place. He listened carefully to the lyrics and knew what he needed to do.

"Can you wait here? I'm going to run up and change but I need another ride." Stuart asked the cabby knowing he'd only have a few minutes before the cab got pricey. He ran up and changed so he could go in the club without getting in trouble. They had gotten in pretty big trouble the first time they'd gone to the club and the last thing he wanted to do is cause issues trying to apologize to Abby. He left his glasses on the table and changed his shirt before heading towards the club. He texted her but knew she would probably be dancing tonight instead of working the bar. Somehow Lyle actually managed to get a hold of Marielena and she met him at the door.

"Don't blow it." She said smiling knowingly at Stuart as he entered the club. A club mix of Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey boomed through the club and the half naked women danced around the room gaining whistles and cash flying at them but Stuart's eyes scanned the room a few times trying to find Abby. Marielena actually walked up and turned his head in her direction and he spotted her dancing around in a tiny plaid skirt that was like boy shorts and a white tied shirt that was more like a bra. Her hair was in a high ponytail and her feet were fitted with heels that made her a bit taller than him. She was clearing tables and dancing by herself, looking like she was avoiding really having to talk to anyone. Stuart let out a breath before walking towards her. She hadn't seen him coming so he knew he had to make the first move. He grazed her shoulder but she didn't turn around.

"You can watch all you want but no touching guy." She yelled over the music.

"I'm fine with watching but I wouldn't mind touching either." She turned around when she heard his voice. She was surprised to see him obviously but when her facial expression went from shock to disgruntled in 2.5 seconds he knew it was on.

"Really? I pegged you for one of those guys who wasn't into PDA." She walked past him and he followed her to the bar as she sat the tray down.

"Maybe you could change my mind?" Stuart tested seeing her look over at Marielena. She tilted her head towards Stuart and made Abby look at him.

"Fine. Let's dance then." She grabbed Stuart's hand and led him through the crowd of people. The song had changed to that Krewella song that he heard on the radio all the time as she pulled him to her chest, lacing her fingers with her own. She rubbed her body against his and he swallowed hard trying to control how fast his heart was beating. She swiveled her hips into his crotch before turning around to grind back into him, not trying to face him. Stuart wrapped his arms around her and felt the hot skin of her stomach, down to her thighs. Abby could feel his body reacting and for a moment she wanted to give into the building sexual tension but his voice broke through her haze.

"I think I should come see you dance more often." He said into her ear loud enough for her to hear him making her turn around to face him.

"You want to know what's funny? You have no problem putting your hands all over me here." Abby's face was inches from Stuart's making him lick his lips.

"I can actually feel how fast your heart is beating right now." She put her hand over his heart.

"But for some reason in the light of day at the Google headquarters, you can't bring yourself to be this intimate." Abby pulled away from Stuart and stared at him.

"That's why I'm here...I wanted to explain-" Abby shook her head.

"You keep assuming that attention and affection is supposed to be easy for me but I don't...I don't do this." Abby waved her hand between them.

"I'm sorry about earlier. If we could just talk then I think I can explain why I'm such an idiot." Stuart yelled just to be heard. Someone bumped into him and he cut his eyes at them.

"No." Abby said firmly covering herself with her arms the best she could as if she suddenly felt exposed.

"No? Does that mean you're done with talking to me right now or like don't ever call me again?" Stuart felt panic in his stomach and she let out a heavy sigh.

"No as in I think I'm just going to walk away in hopes that you'll feel the embarrassment in public like I felt today. If you have a problem with that then it was fun." Abby looked at Stuart nervously before walking back through the crowd towards the bar. Marielena looked at him confused before following Abby towards the back and others walked past him chuckling. He hadn't thought about how it looked to everyone else. He rubbed the back of his neck trying to quickly make his way to the exit. Abby shouldn't have even bother to talk to him if he made her feel like he currently felt. It was like public rejection at it's finest but her words kept playing over and over in his head. He needed to stop thinking of Abby is this insanely hot girl that probably had a million boyfriends because watching how uncomfortable she was to walk away from him like that, something had to be underneath all of that. Abby was a knock out and she was also really fun to be around, something he wasn't used to and for some odd reason she enjoyed talking to him. Stuart walked as far as he could before taking a public bus towards HQ and walking onto the dark campus. When he walked in he quickly stopped on the top level when he noticed two people sitting down below with two laptops.

"Oh I get it now. See I told you I'd get it." It was Billy and some strange guy with huge headphones.

"You have an unimaginable amount of drive, with it you can learn these thing and truly make a difference here." The guy said making Billy nod.

"Truth be told, I'd just like to be closer to my daughter. She's so much like her mother, it's been hard to see her transform into such a beautiful woman. It's like she doesn't need me anymore." Billy said with a laugh.

"I want her to know that she can need me. I want her to not be so afraid to trust people because she is such a great girl and she tries to keep everyone at arms length. I know I let her down a lot and I just want her to be able to count on me for once." Billy explained making Stuart feel even more like shit. He'd pegged Billy as some sort of slacker who didn't know anything but he wasn't trying to coast on them. He was actually trying.

"A father's love is something children cherish. I'm sure she will be very proud of you." Stuart quietly crept away from the railing and left HQ. He knew Abby would be getting off work but he had to talk to her. He tried to think about what he was going to say to her but there were so many things going through his head it was hard to settle on where to start. He pulled out his phone and listened to the Beatles song a few more times trying to figure out if he could pull something from that but was startled when a boot kicked his foot.

"What are you doing here?" Abby looked exhausted and Stuart jumped to his feet quickly.

"Hey! Um I wanted to talk to you." Stuart straightened out his shirt and Abby pushed past him to put the key in her door.

"You've got 5 minutes." She opened the door and Stuart followed her in. She dropped her bag on the chair and turned around, arms crossed over her chest and staring at Stuart.

"So how was work?" Stuart clapped his hands together and Abby remained silent.

"Okay then I'll just skip over all that." He took a deep breath and licked his lips.

"You've been telling me from the beginning that this is all sort of new for you and I kind of brushed it off because I couldn't wrap my head around someone like you being unavailable in any aspect. I've tried to rack my brain for a simple explanation, some sort of logical reasoning for why you would say something like that because that's what I do. I figure things out but when it comes to people I only listen, I never really hear them...until tonight." Stuart kept his eyes on Abby who stayed unmoved.

"This past week, just talking to you has been the highlight of every day. Neha and the others keep making fun of me because they'll catch me smiling at something you've texted me or posted on Instagram and I've never been that guy. I've never been someone to let a girl become a positive part of my day and when you left at lunch today I was completely lost. I had no idea what you were talking about because the fact that you could think any guy would be embarrassed to be able to have lunch with you is beyond me. I've known pretty girls and I've known smart girls but I've never met a girl like you. You kinda of scare the hell out of me." Stuart chuckled and Abby's face lightened.

"I'm an insensitive, cocky jerk most days and I own that but when you walked away from me at the club, I felt that rejection...that god awful instant embarrassment and basically I came here to say I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I know why I am the way that I am about people but I never stopped to think that you feel the exact same way." Stuart moved closer to her.

"I've been sitting out there for a while trying to think of a way to talk myself out of this epic failure of a hole I've dug but all I've got is I'm sorry." Stuart swallowed hard and Abby tilted her head at him.

"I know that was way longer than 5 minutes so..." Stuart shoved his hands in his pockets taking a step back as she continued to stare at him.

 **"** So I guess you're still mad at me considering you're still doing the whole silent sway thing." He gestured to her as she looked him up and down curiously.

"Hey that's cool, I know I…suck at this whole dating thing but I'm here because I want to get better at it…with you." Stuart cleared his throat and took a step towards the door.

"Alrighty then…I'll just leave now..-" Abby finally broke her silence.

"Or you could stay and use your flapping lips for something much more productive like making out with me on the couch." Abby's words caught him off guard making him blink his eyes a bit stunned.

"Or I could stay and make out with you on your…yeah yeah that could work." Stuart hadn't made a move yet but Abby gestured with her eyes snapping him out of it. Once he got close enough, she grabbed the front of his shirt pulling him on top of her as she fell back onto the couch. Stuart held his weight up over Abby and she put her hand on his face.

"For the record, I really like holding your hand." Stuart confessed making Abby smile.

"It's not so bad but I like the kissing more." She teased getting an equally amused smile from Stuart. He leaned down and kissed her softly before letting out a shaky breath.

"You were right, it's better. You should just continue with the whole telling me what I think thing. I think it works out better that way." Stuart joked before Abby shifted her legs around Stuart and brought his lips to hers letting him know exactly what she wanted his lips to be doing. Stuart kissed Abby for awhile, resting against the back of the couch so he wouldn't crush her, her hands running up the back of his shirt to feel the skin of his back but settling in his hair. She'd finally had to break loose from him to shower but Stuart didn't leave. When she came out from the bedroom drying her hair she found him asleep on the couch, arm under his head as stayed pressed to the back of the couch. She looked at the clock and saw it said 2AM so she had no intentions of making him go back to his place but she didn't want to leave him on the couch. She walked over and shook his arm making his eyes open lazily.

"Hey, I was gonna call a cab-" She cut him off.

"Stay the night." She offered making him rub his eyes.

"Are you sure?" He asked sitting up almost confused.

"Yeah. I think after the day we've both had that a bit of spooning would do us both some good." She extended her hand and Stuart chuckled tiredly before taking it and letting her lead him to her room.

"Left side is mine. Get comfortable while I lock up." Abby walked out and to lock the front door and make sure everything was turned off. When she came back, Stuart was in his shirt and boxers on the right side of the bed. She walked over turned the lamp off and got into bed next to him feeling just as anxious as Stuart was.

"You have a really nice bed. Maybe sometime I could show you mine." Stuart said making Abby smile. She laid down and scooted close to him, touching his face and kissing him softly.

"Thank you for being here. It meant a lot to see you sitting out front when I came home." Abby said stroking his cheek. Stuart put his hand on her arm.

"We both got a lot of things to figure out with ourselves. I know that now. I'm not ready to give up just yet. Thank you for giving me another chance. I feel like you keep having to do that." Stuart chuckled.

"I guess I must really think there's something to take a chance on." Abby kissed Stuart one last time before turning over in his arms and letting him hug her to his chest. Stuart kissed shoulder sending chills down her body before they both fell asleep. Stuart couldn't help but have that damn Beatles song stuck in his head even as he dreamed but he honestly didn't mind it.


	9. Not Interested

Stuart had always been a particularly heavy sleeper. It made him the butt of a lot of jokes growing up with two brothers but he managed to sleep comfortably in Abby's bed last night. He even managed to oversleep which wasn't something he ever really did but when he was roused from sleep with a sharp pain in his side, he had miniature flashbacks of the local sheriff trying to get him off his mattress in the middle of town where his brothers had once moved him.

"Quit stabbing me." He mumbled swatting lightly backwards still trying to sleep. Another stab came and he let out a groan before whatever was stabbing him thumped him on the back.

"OW! What the-" Stuart's eyes opened and he didn't see Abby messing with him. He saw a random blonde haired girl wielding a fire poker.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?" She screamed coming at him once more making Stuart scream and roll out of the bed onto his feet.

"WHOA! WHOA! I COME IN PEACE!" He held up his hands so the fire poker didn't hit him in the chest but the arm instead.

"STOP HITTING ME!" Stuart held his arm in pain.

"Why should I!? You can't just break into someone's apartment, sleep in their bed and wear there clothes and think you're going to just walk out unharmed." She threatened and Stuart glanced down at the sweatshirt he was wearing. He had gotten cold in the middle of the night and borrowed one of Abby's.

"I didn't break in!" Stuart said firmly as he took in his surroundings. There was a balcony but he didn't particularly want to jump out of the window.

"Where's your key then because last I checked I had two FEMALE roommates." She backed Stuart towards the balcony and he instantly regretted even making eye contact with the escape route.

"Look I'm a friend of Abby's. She let me stay over last night." Stuart explained.

"Oh and she just left some strange boy in the apartment while she what? Ran out for breakfast?" She gripped the fire poker tighter.

"I honestly don't know where she is right now but if you just let me call her-" Stuart reached for his phone and the woman hit the bed nearly missing his hand with the pointy end.

"DON'T MOVE!" She yelled making Stuart back out onto the balcony.

"JESUS! Call her yourself then!" Stuart held his hands up again but when she did cal Abby's phone, it started ringing on the floor. Stuart's eyes went wide.

"Oh my God...WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?" She ran at Stuart and he backed out of the doors.

"Wait! Wait! Let's just think about this okay? How could I possibly get in if Abby didn't let me in?" He said as he leaned over the railing praying it was sturdy.

"That's your argument? Because robbers, rapists and serial killers politely knock on the front door? Fat chance!" She came at him again but this time he straightened out his posture.

"Maybe you're the murderer. You've got the whole evil grin thing like you'd like to peel my skin off. Maybe I should be questioning you!" He tried to take a step towards her but she quickly backed him down when she swung low enough to hit him in his nuts.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, I'm holding a fire poker and I certainly don't mind tossing you off the balcony before Abby gets here." Stuart held his breath for a moment as she stood firm.

"Is it really so hard to believe that I spent the night with her?" He questioned.

"Yes it is because Abby doesn't really date and if she did she wouldn't let you sleep in her bed. She's weird about her bed." Stuart cocked his eyebrow confused.

"Really? Why's she weird about her bed?" He pressed but Abby came barreling into the room out of breath.

"Because it's a sacred place. Welcome back Lindsay." The crazy woman was now identified but she didn't back away with the poker.

"Abbs, do you know this horrible boy?" Lindsay pressed the tip of the fire poker into Stuart's stomach.

"Yes now could you please put the fire poker down and give me a hug?" Abby coaxed Lindsay towards her and she hugged her tightly. She mouthed an apology at Stuart who looked around for his glasses.

"I came in and found some strange boy in your bed and thought the worst. Where the hell were you and who the hell is he?" She asked the moment she pulled out of the hug.

"Stuart Twombly, he's on my dad's internship team." Stuart raised a hand in a two fingered wave and earned a glare from the fierce blonde.

"Stuart this is Lindsay Mikaelson, fire poker handler and my best friend." She continued to glare at Stuart.

"So he basically works with your dad, doesn't explain why he was in your bed and wearing your sweatshirt." Abby grabbed Lindsay but the arm and started towards the bedroom door.

"I shall explain that out here." She pulled the door shut but before shutting it she looked at Stuart.

"I'm so sorry. Get dressed and I'll make it up to you with lunch." She quickly shut the door and Stuart rubbed his sore arm. He started to pull his jeans back on and pulled the sweatshirt off. He could hear the girls talking faintly but didn't pay much attention not wanting to seem obvious.

"So he's poisoned you and you somehow managed to go on a second date with him? No wonder you haven't bothered to mention him." Stuart had no idea why Lindsay had such a strong dislike for him already but he tied up his shoes listening.

"I'm a grown woman. Can you please just take a breath for a second?" Abby tried not to raise her voice.

"Abby, you barely know the guy and you're already breaking your bed rule. Don't you think you're rushing things just a bit?" Lindsay however didn't care about raising her voice.

"Please just let me handle it. I promise I will tell you all about it later but right now, just settle in. I'll tell you about Stuart and you can tell me why you blew off Paris to come home." Abby said calmly. Stuart opened the door and Abby almost ran into him as she came through and changed her shirt.

Lindsay's mouth hung open like she was stunned Abby was able to walk away from what seemed like an important conversation but she made time to eye him carefully.

"I'll see you later." Abby kissed Lindsay's cheek before grabbing a hold of Stuart's arm and rushing him out the door. She started walking so hard that Stuart had to jog to keep up.

"Are you going to slow down or is this a race?" He asked making her shake her head. She glanced behind them and laughed.

"I was hoping to get far enough away to where she won't run after us." Stuart wasn't sure if she was joking or not but he picked up the pace.

"Where were you? I woke up and you were gone...and then I almost got my ass kicked." Stuart explained.

"The heat went out, I ran over to the landlord's building to make sure they put the apartment on the list of ones that need to be repaired. I had no idea Lindsay would come home, let alone try to kill you with a fire poker." Abby bit her lip as they walked into an outdoor restaurant to have lunch. Stuart sat across from her and winced.

"I really am sorry if she hurt you. We grew up together so she's like mama bear protective." Abby apologized and Stuart lifted the sleeve of his shirt to see the bruise on his arm. Abby frowned at the bruise and Stuart shook his head.

"When my mom died, Lindsay kind of took me under wing and tried to keep anymore bad shit from happening to me. I guess it's my fault since I haven't really told her I was dating again and that's a big deal for her. Like I said, she's mama bear protective." Stuart couldn't wrap his head around just how persistent Lindsay was with her attack. It wasn't so much as him possibly being a friend of Abby but the fact that he was in her bed like a boyfriend would be. It's like the girl didn't want Abby to be sleeping with anyone and that gave Stuart weird Swimfan feelings. They both ordered something light and Stuart watched her play with her coffee.

"What's on your mind?" She finally asked catching Stuart's attention.

"Why would you think something was on my mind?" Stuart asked confused as to what gave it away.

"Other than you staring a hole through me? You're hardly this quiet. What's wrong?" Abby pressed.

"I'm just kind of disoriented. I was sleeping pretty well until your friend accosted me and tried to shove me out of a window so give me some time to bounce back." Abby laughed at him.

"You're a terrible liar. Talk Twombly." She nudged his leg with her foot and he let out a sigh.

"I don't know. I just..." Stuart wasn't sure how to really approach what he was going to say without insulting her or her friend.

 **"** I get being protective of someone so they don't get screwed over but threatening to throw someone over a balcony is a bit extreme." He said seeing Abby shift in the seat across from him.

"Well she knows how screwed up I was after what happened with the last guy I dated so if you knew, you'd understand." Stuart waited for Abby to elaborate but she just sipped her coffee.

"I'm not looking for the dirty details. Just hit me with the basics so I know what I'm getting myself into here." Abby could tell Stuart was worried about her relationship with Lindsay but he didn't know the whole story. Lindsay has literally known her for most of her life. They were kids together. She discovered she wanted to be a dancer when Lindsay decided that she wanted to be a photographer. We both managed to follow those dreams but I didn't have my mom there to tell me not to quit. I had Lindsay. When I finally let someone have my heart for the first time, it was because Lindsay set me up with a photographer that she worked with and when he broke my heart, she felt responsible. Abby knew she couldn't just throw all of that on Stuart. He was the first guy she'd given a chance since then and she didn't want to blow it by him thinking Lindsay had some crazy obsessive lesbian crush on her. But she also didn't want him to know how much of a wreck she was after Ethan.

"Long story short, the one guy I ever really got super involved with cheated on me. It was messy and it took me a long time to really get over it." She tried doing whatever she could to avoid his eyes. Stuart stayed quiet for a moment before letting out a huff.

"What kind of idiot would cheat on you? I mean the guy was clearly brain damaged for thinking he could find someone better." Abby shook her head at him. It was nice to think he thought she was something to hold onto but the doubt always seemed to linger in her mind.

"I guess some people get distracted and find interest someplace else." She glanced up at him when shrugged while shaking his head abruptly.

"No I don't buy that. I've only been dating you a few weeks and I've got zero interest in anyone else." Abby finally looked him over and he seemed very firm in his stance.

"Well that's good but we're only dating. We haven't really made any commitments. You might change your mind." She tested but that seemed to catch Stuart off guard.

"So do you just assume every guy is a cheater or what?" Abby's eyebrows went up and Stuart held firm in his question.

"I didn't say that. I was merely saying that it doesn't really count as cheating if you haven't established that you're exclusive with someone. You can date more than one person." Abby sipped her coffee.

"Really? Wow I might need you to write me a handbook for dating." Stuart challenged making Abby smile.

"Just because we've been on a couple of dates doesn't mean you can't go out with someone else." She shrugged.

"Basically if we don't make it exclusive than it's fair game to do whatever?" Stuart asked and Abby just nodded.

"We've only been dating a few weeks and you're already trying to put a label on it." He knew he said the wrong thing when her head snapped up.

"Um that's actually the opposite of what I said. I literally just said you could date whoever you wanted. I'm not trying to pin you down." Abby defended quickly.

"No but it seems like if I don't make some huge gesture than you'll go and have dinner with some other guy?" Stuart asked a bit defensive himself.

"You know, most guys would be thrilled with the prospects of not being tied down and able to do whatever they wanted." Stuart starts biting his lip and Abby feels like something might be wrong with him. She didn't want to scare him off but she didn't want him to think she thought he was a jerk like Ethan.

"Hey." Stuart looked up like he'd snapped out of his thoughts and Abby held his gaze for a moment.

"I'm not trying to offend you, I promise. I just don't want either of us to end up in this horrible miscommunication and hate one another. I actually like being able to talk to you." Abby admitted making Stuart nod his head.

"So you agree, it's too soon for titles and all that?" Stuart asked. Abby knew she had no plans of dating anyone else. Hell, she was surprised that she was able to overcome having him in her bed without freaking out but she liked that she could be spontaneous with Stuart. She liked that he somehow thought she was worth the effort and it wasn't just to get in her pants. She liked a lot of things about him but she didn't want to risk being clingy and losing him.

"I think so. It's the beginning of summer. Let's just have fun." She smiled and Stuart nodded his head.

"Alright, I can get behind that. I mean you aren't horrible company." He sipped his drink and Abby kicked his leg making him jump.

"Hey! Still healing over here." Stuart teased and Abby pouted. They spent the rest of lunch talking about anything that didn't touch closely to their situation, Lindsay or Abby's ex. When Stuart headed to Headquarters, it was the only thing on his mind. He didn't really know the first thing about dating, mostly because he never bother to give a damn about anyone for an extended period of time so maybe just enjoying the summer with Abby was the right move. But he couldn't help thinking about some other guy taking her out or being in her bed with her. It's not like he could tell her not to see anyone else without seeming like a possessive asshat. He wasn't even sure he could be possessive of someone he's only been on a handful of dates with.

"Earth to Spock, anybody in there?" Stuart snapped his head sideways to see Neha waving her hand in his face.

"Do I look like a Star Trek guy to you?" Stuart asked disgusted as he adjusted in his chair but Neha rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be hanging out with Abby or something." Neha asked curiously earning a sour look.

"I don't spend all of my free time with Abby. I do actually have a life, you know." Stuart was clutching his phone but realized he wasn't actually doing anything on it.

"Of course you do. Why hang out with your girlfriend when you could be sitting here reading fan fiction." Neha waved her hand around. Stuart shook his head baffled at how much of a fangirl Neha was.

"I know that's like the equivalent to porn for you but I don't read fan fiction. I read actual literature." Neha's face turned serious.

"Okay first off, how dare you. Fan fiction isn't just a hobby, it's a lifestyle. That shit will change your life. _BrittWitt16_ , girl knows her shit okay? She can make you cry, vomit and want to roll around naked with a scrawny human in a world full of hot werewolves at the same time. Don't make me go Zoe Washburne on your ass." Neha threatened and Stuart furrowed his eyebrows together.

"You know 50 Shades of Grey was fan fiction right?" Stuart pointed out and Neha looked insulted at the comparison.

"I'm about to punch you in the dick." Neha warned with a straight face.

"How did I end up in a conversation about fan fiction?" Stuart asked out loud.

"Because you're sulking in public instead of spending time with your girlfriend." Neha reminded him.

"She isn't my girlfriend." He pointed out.

"Please tell me you didn't go ruining things again. I thought she gave you another chance? How did you manage to screw up so quickly?" Neha sat down next to him and he tensed.

"I didn't do anything! I just..." He pinched the bridge of his nose before riffling through his bag to put his glasses on.

"Thing's have gotten a bit complicated and I'm not sure if I'm making them complicated in my head or if I'm setting myself up." Stuart said not really wanting to have Neha give him a bunch of shit.

"We're team mates. You can talk to me. I'm not going to hold it against you." Stuart looked over at Neha and she seemed sincere.

"I spent the night with Abby last night and now she's telling me that we aren't exclusive and I can date whoever I want." Stuart explained.

"Wow...are you that bad in bed?" Stuart threw his hands up and Neha regretted taking the jab grabbing his arm to pull him back to the seat.

"I'm kidding! I'm just kidding." She said quickly.

"We didn't have sex. We just slept in her bed, which is apparently a sacred place but now she's talking like she might want to see other guys." Stuart shook his head confused.

"Maybe she's ready for you to DTR?" Stuart stared at Neha confused.

"Dance The Rumba?" He guessed.

"How do you get...no. Define the relationship you epic fail meme." Neha rubbed at her forehead. She couldn't understand how Stuart could be so well versed in technology yet completely clueless about social things.

"We just started dating. There is no relationship. There's nothing to define." Stuart leaned back in the chair and Neha stared at him.

"If you really felt that way, you wouldn't be sitting here being a huge emo kid." Neha called Stuart out.

"Is this you helping me? Making fun of me constantly?" Stuart glared.

"I'm going to take a shot in the dark and assume that you don't date a lot, which is fine but be honest with yourself. You think it's too soon to give each other labels but you aren't down with the idea of her being with other guys." Neha somehow knew exactly what Stuart was thinking. Which made him wonder how come Abby didn't understand that?

"She said she agreed that it was too soon to label things and I'm not trying to come on too strong. I actually really enjoying spending time with her...and the making out is also a huge plus." Stuart's eyes went wide and Neha laughed.

"Then tell her that. Be honest with her. Tell her you don't want to come off too strong but you don't want to see anyone else and you hope she doesn't either." Neha explained finally getting Stuart to look at her in a different light.

"And what if she wants to see other people?" Stuart questioned but she shook her head.

"Trust me, she doesn't." She seemed confident in her answer.

"How do you know?" He still had doubts but she stood up and smoothed out her dress.

"A woman's bed is a sacred place. You can have sex anywhere. You can cuddle on the couch with a guy but your bed is where you sleep. It's where you let your guard down. When you bring a guy in there it's special, whether you're naked or not. If Abby brought you into her bed than she isn't trying to date other people." Neha patted Stuart on the shoulder.

"Now get out of here before people see that we're socializing together. You aren't the only one trying to score, Twombly." Neha looked around the room and Stuart chuckled.

"Hey...thanks. You aren't so terrible when you aren't busting my balls and talking about fan fiction." Stuart admitted earning the finger from Neha. He got up from the chair and decided he was going to go back to his crappy apartment and clean himself up. He showered and put on fresh clothes before checking Facebook to see Abby had updated her status.

 **Abby Clark** _is excited for kids day at the studio! So many tiny dancers roaming about. Makes me want to have an Elton John night._

Stuart smiled to himself picturing Abby dancing around the dance studio with a bunch of kids. He didn't really have a lot of experience with hanging out with children. Mostly because they thought he was a jerk and too serious which is probably how he came off to most people but to kids especially. Stuart took a cab to the dance studio and could see parents filtering out with their kids. The girl at the front desk let him go ahead up and he walked just in the door to see Abby playing games with the few children who were left over.

"I want to see those little booties shaking to the beat. 1 and 2 and 1 and 2!" Stuart leaned against the wall trying to be out of the way and Abby looked surprised to see him. There was only one little girl left by the time the song started to end and she followed Abby around the studio in some sort of freestyle follow the leader. Despite her being the only girl left, Abby kept dancing as if she didn't want the girl to feel like she was dismissing her.

"Come on, you've gotta keep up that strut!" Abby insisted as she wiggled her hips.

"Miss Abby, is that your boyfriend?" Abby and Stuart made eye contact the moment the girl said it and he smiled.

"Who? That adorable nerd right there?" Abby gestured to Stuart making him shake his head. The little girl's mom walked to the door.

"I'm not allowed to call people nerds. Momma said it's not nice." The little girl followed behind Abby towards her bag that had Sophia written on it.

"Well your mom is right but when I call him an adorable nerd he kinda likes it." Stuart tried not to laugh out loud but Abby caught him smiling. She put her finger up telling Stuart to give her another second but he cleared his throat.

"You're a terrible influence." He whispered quickly as she passed him.

"You're a terrible blusher." She bumped his hip with hers as she passed and followed Sophia and her mom out of the door. Stuart glanced in the mirror and could see how his body had betrayed him once more and attempted to rub the blush out of his skin. Abby came back into the studio curious as to why Stuart had shown up out of the blue.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to get some nerdy things in." Abby waved her hand around and Stuart took a deep breath.

"Yeah no I was and then I got distracted thinking about you...we need to talk." Stuart watched the smile slip off of Abby's face.

"Look if this is about earlier-" Stuart stepped towards Abby cutting her off.

"It is but maybe you should just let me talk first and you can either tell me to leave or whatever." Stuart knew Abby was fearing the worst the moment she wrapped her arms around herself like she was preparing to protect herself from his words. He licked his lips and swallowed the lump in his throat trying to remember what Neha had said about being honest.

"You and I both seem to be good at very different things. You could dance circles around me and I could program a computer to probably provide backup." Abby chuckled confused.

"But it's pretty obvious we both sort of suck at the whole...dating thing." Abby remained silently freaking out waiting for the shoe to drop but Stuart was really drawing it out.

"Not that we suck together, no I mean that's not what I meant." Stuart sputtered off.

"Well what do you mean?" Abby pushed to anxious to wait any longer.

"Look, I'm not trying to pressure you to do anything. I'm still have no idea why you even find me remotely interesting but I do know I'm not going to take it for granted." Stuart put his hand on Abby's arm and she let him pull them away from her chest to take her hands.

"I'm not saying we should run off and have kids, I'm not saying I want you to pledge your undying love for me-" Abby cocked her eyebrow.

"Neha got you to read fan fiction huh?" She teased.

"I'll admit I browsed but that goes to the grave." Stuart said making Abby laugh but he tightened his grip on her hands making her look at him.

"I'm spending the summer here trying to see if I can somehow make a life for myself here. That means we only have 4 months to test run this thing between us and I don't want to waste time with labels and questioning things." Abby wasn't sure where he was going but she didn't feel as terrified.

"I'm not interested in seeing anyone else. When I'm not working with the team or trying to keep up with my family crap, all I think about is you. I agree with you when you said it's too soon to label whatever this is but I just want you to know that I don't want to spend my time with anyone else...and I was kind of hoping you didn't either." Stuart felt his throat go dry slightly and Abby tilted her head sideways sizing him up slightly.

"You think I'm the one who wants to see other people?" Abby questioned.

"I don't know, I mean I don't but you seemed like you might-" Abby laughed cutting Stuart off.

"Why's that funny?" He loosened his grip on his hands and Abby shook her head.

"I'm just trying to be honest with you here. You don't have to laugh." Stuart dropped her hands and she grabbed the front of his shirt pulling him towards her. Stuart was caught off guard but let her hold him to her chest.

"I'm not interested in seeing anyone else either. I just didn't think you...I'm kind of a mess, as you well know. I guess I just thought after what happened this morning you would want to keep your distance, not want to get closer." She put her arms around Stuart's neck and he let his hands fall to her hips.

"Look, I don't know what happened with that guy and I'm not going to stand here making all these huge promises but I'm not a cheater. I may be a pompous, arrogant dick head at times but I'm not a cheater. I know I'm the lucky one here." Stuart said honestly. Abby stroked the back of his head and felt her heart skip a beat as she pulled his head down towards her for a kiss. Abby liked that Stuart made her feel special again. She liked that when she kissed him, he let out a sigh through his nose like he'd been holding his breath just being around her. She liked how free she felt with him.

"So I guess this kind of means we're together-together, right?" Stuart breathed against Abby's lips. She pulled away slightly and looked at him, touching the moles that were mapped out on his face.

"The only thing I ask is that you tell me when you're ready to throw in the towel. I don't want you to feel trapped in something." Abby said and Stuart could tell she was serious.

"Alright. Can I ask a favor too since we're making commitments here?" Stuart asked.

"Can you never leave me alone with your friend ever again? I've never feared for my life more." Abby smiled at Stuart and nodded her head.

"I think I can manage that." She gave him another kiss before pushing off his chest.

"I have to go home and talk to Lindsay-" Stuart shook his head.

"I don't mind waiting. I'll ride with you and make sure you get in safe and I'll head back to my place." Abby cocked her eyebrow at him.

"You aren't going to be like grossly overprotective now are you because I have to say, that's not attractive." Abby said and Stuart rocked back and forth on his feet.

"I actually wanted to stop by the place we went to lunch so I could grab something to eat." Stuart admitted making Abby laugh.

"Well that's a relief." Abby cleaned up the studio and held Stuart's hand as they walked out together. They took a cab back to her place and Abby didn't want to let go of his hand. Stuart had these insanely lanky fingers that were oddly attractive to her for some reason.

"So I have no idea what I'm doing tomorrow but I'm going to assume you have work." Stuart said walking Abby to the front of her building and stopping.

"I'm sure you'll survive without me." Abby teased.

"I actually think we're doing team building tomorrow so you should actually be jealous." Stuart pushed back and forth against Abby's hands as their fingers remained laced together.

"Oh you have no idea. I'll be slowly dying inside while surrounded by sexy half naked women all day." Abby frowned playfully and Stuart laughed.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow." Stuart leaned forward and kissed Abby one last time before letting go of her hands and watching her go up the steps to her apartment. Once she was out of sight he put his hands in his pockets and turned around to head to the restaurant but was stopped quickly when he saw Lindsay standing with her arms crossed.

"JESUS! Whoa! What are you-" Stuart threw his hands up as if to brace himself for a fight but she stood firm and unmovable.

"What's your deal computer boy?" She asked holding his gaze.

"My deal?" Stuart was confused by how abrasive Lindsay was towards him.

"Yeah your deal. What do you want with Abby?" She asked as if Stuart had some sort of motive.

"I don't want anything...well I mean I want to date her which is what we're doing currently. What do you think I want with her?" Stuart rolled his eyes to the side curiously.

"She doesn't need some guy screwing with her head again so whatever you're trying to do-" Stuart cut her off.

"Why are you so set in the idea that I'm trying to screw with her head? You don't even know me." Stuart knew he had to stand his ground or Lindsay would continue to walk all over him.

"You're right, I don't know you. Doesn't that strike you as odd? You've been dating for however long and she hasn't mentioned you once? I'm her best friend. She tells me everything. Why hasn't she mentioned you Stuart?" Lindsay wasn't backing down either.

"Well who knows? If you act like this with all the guys she talks to then I wouldn't be surprised she hasn't mentioned me." Lindsay shook her head.

"You don't get it. There hasn't been other guys, not one since Ethan. When Abby finally got back on track, the only thing she was worried about was school and her dad." Lindsay took a step towards Stuart and he swallowed his fear.

"If this is some revenge of the nerds thing you've got going you better duck out now because she isn't some super hot girl you can conquer and tell all your little nerd buddies about." Lindsay waved her finger at him.

"You don't think I was surprised that we hit it off? I'm very aware that we look like an insane couple but I genuinely enjoy her company. If you knew me, you'd know I don't have some sort of clan that run back to and tell stories of the hot girl I used and threw away. I'm not that guy." Stuart defended and Lindsay looked him up and down.

"For your sake, you better not be. She deserves to be happy and I'm not going to let some guy turn her world upside down again. I will cut you into pieces starting with your smallest appendage and be able to sleep like a baby the very same night. Got it?" Lindsay had stepped into Stuart's space and he blinked a few times.

"I believe you would actually do that and I respect how protective you are but I'm not trying to impress you or prove anything to you. I just want to spend whatever down time I can with Abby. I don't have a motive or some agenda. Honestly I'm just as surprised as you are but I'm taking a chance here." Stuart explained holding his arms out.

Lindsay kept a stern face and nodded her head. Stuart was starting to think that whoever this Ethan guy was did a lot more than cheat on Abby to have such a guard up around her.

"You've got balls, Stuart. As long as you know I'll chop them off and feed them to you if you hurt her, I think we'll be just fine." Lindsay patted him on the shoulder making him jump.

"Noted." Stuart breathed as Lindsay started into the apartment complex. Stuart looked back and started towards the restaurant so he could call a cab. He kept trying to keep his mind focused on making progress with Abby and not the fierce warning Lindsay gave him. It made him oddly curious about what happened with the ex but even more curious as to why Abby would up and pick him to start dating again. What made him stand out to her? Maybe he was the one who should be more cautious. He was pulled from his thoughts when his phone beeped with a tag notification on his Instagram. He pulled up the picture and saw that it was a picture of his and Abby's hands sitting on the cab seat from earlier. The caption said: "It feels nice to have a hand to hold." Stuart liked the picture and couldn't help but smile for the rest of the night, not letting anything else worry him.


	10. In My Arms

Abby and Lindsay were in a giant bundle of blankets, wearing at least 2 layers a piece and silently cursing the fact that they went with the adorable apartment complex instead of one with newer heating system. It was 80 degrees outside, the sun was shining and yet their apartment was like the arctic.

"That bloody landlord of ours is really going to make me kill him this time if he doesn't sort this out." Lindsay complained as Abby sipped her coffee.

"He said it'll be fixed in a few days. I doubt it will be long. Not with the way people complain." Abby kept her hands wrapped around her coffee mug and really didn't want to reach for her phone as it beeped.

"Really? That boy is quite persistent." Lindsay waited until Abby looked over at her before pulling a face.

"Why don't you just tell me why you don't like him and be done with it. I mean you used to tell me that I can't let one massive jerk screw up the rest of my dating experiences and that's what I'm doing. Now you suddenly have a problem with it?" Abby pointed out.

"Then why haven't you told me about him? I mean we talked on the phone a few times and you never thought to mention him? Why not? You let the guy sleep in your bed, Abs. Don't even try and tell me that isn't a big deal for you anymore." Lindsay scooted closer to her.

"I didn't tell you because if it didn't work out I was afraid of looking like an idiot again." Abby admitted finally setting her mug down. Lindsay looked at her confused.

"Honey, you didn't look like the idiot before. He was the arse that cheated on you." Lindsay reminded but Abby cut her eyes.

"But I stuck around. You know I was the fool in all of that. I knew what he was doing and I was too afraid to leave him. I hated who I was then." Abby said making Lindsay put her hand on her face.

"You aren't even close to being that girl." Lindsay said firmly.

"You're right, I'm not. I actually like myself more around Stuart. I feel like I can be myself and still be accepted. He makes me laugh and teaches me things I never really thought I'd want to learn." Abby explained making Lindsay's face soften.

"He's cocky and sarcastic and can be a complete pain in the ass but I genuinely enjoy hearing from him. He makes me feel special. I haven't felt that way in a long time, Linds. We have the entire summer to figure this whole thing out and I really want to see how it plays out." Abby said making Lindsay let out a heavy breath.

"Fine. I'll give the doorknob a try but I want to hear the whole story, how and where you met? First date, second date, how exactly he managed to get into your inner sanctum." Abby laughed at her best friend. Abby told Lindsay about the day she ran into Stuart and how he blamed it on her, she laughed when she told her about attacking Stuart for being mean to her dad and warning him to be nicer. Lindsay didn't take too kindly to him standing her up but did ease up a bit once Abby explained that he is equally as self conscious as she is. Lindsay thought about the night she warned him about being honest with his intentions.

"Does he know about Ethan?" Lindsay finally asked watching Abby look away.

"I kind of had to tell him a little bit considering you attacked him. He was surprisingly cool about it. He said he couldn't understand why someone would risk losing someone like me by cheating." Abby said making Lindsay tilt her head to the side.

"Really? That's surprisingly mature of him." Lindsay rolled her eyes.

"He's not perfect Linds but that's kind of why I like him. He's got baggage and insecurities but he has crazy focus and determination." Abby shifted on the couch.

"Kind of like someone else I know." Lindsay nudged Abby's shoulder.

"All I ask is you give him a chance." Abby asked putting her hand on Lindsay's. She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.

"I'll try but I get free reign to beat him up if he hurts you. He's been thoroughly warned." Lindsay said firmly before Abby hugged her tightly.

"Hopefully it won't come to that. He is actually really sweet. He even offered for me to stay at his place until they fix the heat." Lindsay's eyebrows went up.

"Well isn't he generous." She teased.

"I'm not ready for all that just yet. I'll probably take the couch...if he has one." Abby hadn't actually been inside of Stuart's apartment yet. She'd seen the outside and it didn't look half as nice as theirs but she figured for not having a room mate and trying to support yourself, it was the best he could do which showed character in her book.

"I thought you said the kid came from money?" Lindsay said raising an eyebrow.

"He does but he also doesn't get along with his dad. He pays his own way which is admirable in my book." Abby finally got up after looking at her watch.

"I have to start getting ready for work." Abby walked into her room and tried to change as quickly as she could to avoid freezing and also packed a bag for classes at the studio in the afternoon. Lindsay had followed her into her room and sat on her bed.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Lindsay said getting Abby's attention.

"How about why you're home instead of shooting for the gallery in Paris. I know you keep skating around that but I'd really like to know what happened." Abby said pulling on her fringed shorts. She knew she'd warm up once she got to the club but she didn't want to overdress.

"The models were crap, the locations they gave me were not what I wanted and I just wasn't feeling it. I got an idea and asked my publisher who said he'd give me a week to show him what I came up with and if he likes it then he won't completely rip my head off for bailing." Lindsay explained.

"What's the idea?" Abby narrowed her eyebrows together.

"You. I'll photograph you. It pays well and you're gorgeous." Abby stopped what she was doing to look at Lindsay.

"Are you being serious?" She asked earning a nod.

"Lindsay, I'm not a model. I can barely walk up stairs let alone a catwalk." Abby zipped her bag.

"It's not a catwalk, it's a series of photos. We can work around your schedule but I really need to get the first set done and sent." Lindsay followed Abby out of her room.

"This is California, you can find a real model." Abby threw her bag over her shoulder and Lindsay wanted to stop her but she knew that she was already uncomfortable with the idea of modeling for her. It didn't surprise her. She knew why she didn't want to model for her again. Modeling for Lindsay was how she met Ethan and it brought back painful memories.

Abby went to work and tried to shake the thoughts of her past as she tended the bar.

**Text from Stuart:  
** _We won another semi challenge today. Neha actually rocked it._

Abby smiled reading the message. She was glad that Stuart was finally connecting with the team. Both Nick and her dad had taken him under their wing and he actually seemed to be loosening up. Even Neha had messaged her to keep working her magic on Stuart because he's more tolerable to be around. Abby only laughed.

**Text to Stuart:**   
_That's awesome! We'll have to celebrate tonight._

Abby couldn't even pocket her phone before it beeped again.

**Text from Stuart:**   
_We're actually going out to lunch together right now so I might come bother you later once you leave work._

**Text to Stuart:**   
_I'll be at the studio after my shift so if you want to come hang out, that's cool._

Abby went about the rest of her shift passing off smiles and getting pretty decent tips but nothing that was going to really go towards school. She hated how stuck she was. She either had to overcome her fears or lower her self standards for the club and both things gave her insane anxiety. She knew she shouldn't leave early but once Missy arrived she cut out and went straight for the studio. She needed to relax and she couldn't do that in the club. She needed to be alone with her thoughts and the music. She changed her clothes and let all the tension out of her body as she stretched out and put in a mix.

Abby danced alone for over an hour ignoring her phone and anyone who walked by the studio and just danced. It had been a while since she just let herself go in the moment like that but she felt like it helped her. She had no sense of time or space around her, she just let her body flow with the music that played. She didn't realize the door opened up and Stuart walked in tossing his backpack near the wall and watching her with a smile on his face.

"Hey, how long have you been standing there?" Abby looked at him in the mirror.

"Not too long. I like that routine." He started digging into his pockets to find his phone.

"It's not a routine. It's free-styling. I'm just listening to the music and moving my body." Abby explained not paying attention to him for a few more moments until she realized he was on his phone.

 **"** Did you come all the way here to work because if you need to go back to HQ it's fine. I can just meet you later." Abby said spinning around towards him but Stuart kept his phone up.

"Actually I'm taking an Instagram video of how amazing you are." Stuart explained as he continued to record.

"Oh god don't take a video." Abby rolled her eyes but didn't stop dancing.

"Why not? You look amazing." Stuart explained as he finished the video and started to edit it.

"Oh please. I'm not even doing anything." She rolled to the floor and Stuart pulled a face. He knew he could do a lot of things but dancing like Abby did was not one of those things.

"Besides I thought you only liked when I danced at the club?" Abby finally looked at him in the mirror as he walked over to his backpack and sat down on the floor.

"I feel like I should be offended by how shallow you assume I am." Stuart said posting the video as Abby smirked at him. The song ended and she walked over to wipe the sweat off her face before joining him on the floor. He gave her a quick peck but she held his cheek extending the kiss. When she pulled away, Stuart's eyebrows were up.

"What was that for?" He questioned.

"I was just kind of in a funk earlier. It's nice to see you." Abby explained and Stuart tilted his head down.

"You want to talk about it?" Stuart asked but Abby just shook her head.

"If you had to choose, would you face your fears or sacrifice your integrity?" Abby pitched making Stuart lean his head back as she rested her legs on top of his.

"Well I guess I'd probably face my fears but I mean, everyone has different fears. If I was afraid of like sharks or something I'd probably forget how to spell integrity let alone know that I owned any." Abby chuckled. Stuart kept his eyes on her.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked curiously but Abby shook her head.

"It's hard to explain and I really don't want to drag you into it." Abby explained earning a huff from Stuart as he turned his body and pulled her by her thigh so she was almost sitting in his lap.

"Maybe I want you to drag me into it? That's what I'm here for. I help you, you help me." Stuart reminded her and Abby put her arms around his neck.

"You know this whole having a boyfriend thing isn't half bad. I wasn't aware of all the positive benefits." Abby smirked at Stuart.

"Oh yeah? What kind of benefits would those be?" Stuart kissed Abby as she twisted her body more towards his. She bit his bottom lip softly and couldn't help but smile. Abby enjoyed getting lost with Stuart. She didn't feel stressed out when she was with him. She swung her legs over his hips to straddle him just before the PA went off.

"Yeah Ab's, if you have sex on the studio floor I'm not cleaning it up." Abby laughed out loud pulling away from Stuart.

"Sorry Nina." She said loudly before the PA clicked off. Stuart let his head fall back against the wall.

"Yeah thanks Nina." Stuart yelled making Abby scoot back on his legs.

"I can't believe you put that video up. I look like stupid." Abby looked at Stuart's phone as he got likes on the video of her.

"Stupid? Seriously? I'm pretty sure you could do the funky chicken and look sexy." Stuart rolled his eyes and Abby started flapping her arms making him laugh.

"I stand corrected." He teased earning a smack on the arm. He laced his fingers with hers and she leaned back.

"I might need you to teach me a few things for my Junior's wedding." Abby's eyebrows went up.

"Mmm you dancing the waltz in a tuxedo sounds pretty hot." Abby pressed her lips together.

"Yeah I doubt I can learn the waltz that quickly but maybe some basics would work better." Stuart suggested making Abby get up from his legs and extend her hand to help him to his feet.

"Basic ballroom and such I can do but if your family starts doing the waltz, just remember I offered." Stuart got to his feet and stretched out a little before letting Abby mess with his arms and feet. She taught him slowly at first just by himself so he could get his feet down but when she picked out a slow song Stuart got nervous.

"Okay so just keep your head up. It's Christina Perri so it's going to be slow but you've got to lead me." Abby stepped up to Stuart and put his hand on her back before taking his free hand. Stuart looked down at his feet.

"Eyes up." She said making his eyes jump from under his glasses. He started counting in his head and remembering the directions he was supposed to be moving his feet but he kept stepping on Abby's feet.

"I told you I'm terrible at this." Stuart grumbled.

"You aren't terrible but I need you to take your shoes off." Abby bit her lip and Stuart let go of Abby and dropped his arms.

"I'll just stick with swaying." Stuart gave up but Abby grabbed his hips making him look up at her.

"If you let me help you with the slow dancing, I'll show you some of the new dance moves for the club." Abby promised. Stuart's eyebrows went up and he quickly kicked out of his shoes. Abby had to laugh as he put his arms up ready to start again.

"You're all class, Twombly." She teased making him smirk. They practiced for almost an hour before Stuart started to get leg cramps. He actually had a lot of fun learning to dance with Abby.

"Aren't you supposed to teach a class like 15 minutes ago?" Stuart asked as he rubbed the knots out of his thighs.

"Yeah I don't know what the hold up is." Abby walked over to the PA system on the wall and hit the button.

"What's up Abs?" Nina came over the speaker.

"Did you guys move my class to another room or-" Nina hissed through the speaker.

"That class was cancelled. I thought Monica called you?" Nina said making Abby grow even more frustrated than before.

"What? Why wouldn't you tell me when I came in if it was cancelled?" Abby asked annoyed as Stuart slipped his shoes back on.

"Because you looked stressed out. I thought you came in to let off some steam. I'm sorry hun." Nina sounded genuinely sorry for the miscommunication and Abby leaned her head against the wall.

"It's fine..." She let go of the PA button and shook her head.

"Most people get excited getting the night off." Stuart spoke up making Abby rub at the back of her neck.

"Most people aren't about to be kicked out of school." Abby pushed off the wall and Stuart crossed the room towards her.

"What? What happened?" Stuart asked concerned but Abby shook it off.

"It doesn't matter. Don't worry about it. I have to see if I can get in some extra hours at the club tonight or I'm going to be broke." Abby started to change out of her clothes and Stuart averted his eyes slightly.

"You worked this morning, you're probably exhausted." Stuart said as Abby huffed.

"Well I don't have a choice. I need the money." Abby grabbed up her bag and Stuart stopped her.

"Hey just slow down for a minute okay?" He rubbed her arm and she took a deep breath trying to do as he told her.

"How bad is the money situation? I mean, can I help at all?" Stuart asked making Abby narrow her eyes at him.

"You know I'm actually aware of your money situation right? Do you really think I'd let you put yourself out to help me?" Abby questioned crossing her arms over her chest.

"Honestly, I think you're too independent and proud to ask anyone for help which is why you're so upset. I get it. I just meant is there anything I can do to make this less stressful for you? I mean we can go to your place, grab up some things and I could drop you off at the club. That way it'll give me some time to straight up at my place so you don't see how truly single I live. Maybe even order a pizza for us to have after you get off?" Stuart was trying to help Abby in a way no one really had tried before. He was right when he said she was too proud to take money from people. She knew her struggles were her own doing but here he was trying to make her feel like she wasn't alone with it.

"That sounds like a great idea. You aren't going to be bummed that we can't hang out tonight?" Abby stepped into Stuart's space and he put his hands on her hips.

"To be honest, I don't think I'd be able to do much anyway after all that dancing. Eating pizza and watching TV while I ice my legs sounds like heaven right now." Stuart admitted. Abby smiled at him before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, seriously." Abby said genuinely making Stuart nod.

"We have similar struggles. If I can help, I'm down. In the future I might also need the help of a very coordinated dance instructor to help me two step through a wedding reception." Stuart smiled at Abby.

"It's a good thing you're dating one then." Abby's eyes got big as she teased Stuart. She grabbed her bag and Stuart grabbed his own before heading down to her car. When they stopped by her place, Lindsay was on the phone with someone and had the entire coffee table occupied by photos and paperwork.

"She just walked in, I'll call you back." Lindsay hung up the phone making Abby sigh.

"Thank god! I was just about...oh you brought the nerd." Lindsay saw Stuart walk in behind Abby and he shook his head.

"Nice to see you too Fatal Attraction. Kill any bunnies today?" Stuart fired back earning a hit from Abby on the chest.

"Can you two please not start this today?" Abby said looking between them.

"I'm not worried about the spaz. I need to talk to you about these photo shoots." Lindsay held up the paperwork.

"I already told you I'm not interested. I just came to pick up some clothes for tonight. I have to head back to work-" Lindsay cut Abby off confused.

"I thought you worked the morning shift and had classes this afternoon?" She questioned.

"I did but I left early and found out that my classes were cancelled. I need to pick up another shift if I want to make enough by the end of the summer." Abby explained.

"Hello! This is a perfect opportunity to do that!" Lindsay waved the paper around as Stuart sat on the couch.

"Please drop it. I need to get my clothes and get out of here." Abby looked over at Stuart before looking back at Lindsay.

"Can I trust you two out here for a few minutes? I don't want you taking any swings." Abby said making Stuart shake his head.

"I'll be fine." He waved it off even though Lindsay glared at him.

 **"** I mean it Linds. Play nice." Abby pointed at Lindsay.

"You're no fun." Lindsay pouted as Abby walked into her room to pack a bag. Lindsay immediately turned to Stuart and huffed.

"Okay listen up geek squad, I need your help convincing Abby to do these photo shoots." Stuart looked around the room knowing Lindsay was talking to him but wasn't sure why she suddenly thought she could ask him for a favor.

"So you think I should help you after you've treated me like crap, threatened and assaulted me on top of constantly taking jabs verbally." Lindsay held an unamused glare at him.

"No one has time for you to be a sensitive Stacy!" She mocked as Stuart shook his head.

"You see that sounded exactly like the opposite of an apology." He winked at her making her even more frustrated.

"You are such a child." She ran her hand through her hair wanting to pull it out.

"You're getting warming but not quite." She sat down across from him and held up some old photos. Stuart looked at the photos and they were of a younger Abby, not super young but she definitely looked like she was only 18.

"Look nerdburger, I offered Abby a job that will not only help her make her school payment but will help her secure it. All I need her to do is do a few photo shoots for me. She'll be able to keep her clothes on and won't have to bust her ass working three jobs." Lindsay explained as he finished looking at the pictures.

"If it was as easy as you're explaining it then you wouldn't need me. What's the catch?" Stuart asked handing the pictures back.

"The ex, he was a photographer too. She met him at one of my old shoots." Stuart pinned his eyebrows together.

"So you grill me about being a nice guy and you try to make her do something that brings up unhappy memories?" Stuart pointed out.

"She needs the money! You have no idea how close she is to-" Lindsay stopped herself and Stuart took note of it.

"Look, if you care about her, like honestly care about her well being and her future then you will help me convince her that she needs to do this. Otherwise you're going to watch her lose her dream all because she was too afraid of the past." Lindsay and Stuart stared at each other for a few moments before she got up and collected the paperwork. Stuart didn't want to put any pressure on Abby but seeing her stress out about money was something he knew personally sucked. He didn't want her to have to be in the same shitty predicament as he was in.

"Okay I guess I can leave the sweaters here since I'm assuming you actually have heat in your apartment." Abby came out of her room with a bag on her shoulder.

"Actually my apartment gets pretty hot at night so you can leave the sweaters." Stuart admitted standing up. Lindsay was gathering some of the paperwork when Abby looked down at her.

"Don't be upset with me. I'm sorry I can't help. Maybe I can find one of the girls to-" Lindsay shook her head.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. You two have a great night." Stuart could see Lindsay was taking a different tactic now but Abby just let out a sigh before grabbing a hold of his arm and leading him out of the apartment. Abby let Stuart drive her car to the club to drop her off but he could tell her mind was still on Lindsay. He told her he would be back at 11 to pick her up before kissing her goodbye and watching her walk into the club. He drove back to his place to straighten as much of it as he could but there wasn't much that could be done. He didn't have much to begin with. He pretty much took whatever was in his door that he thought he'd need and tried to get the rest for cheap. He knew that if he got the job at Google, he'd have to find a better place but for now, this was home. He looked at his bed and knew he didn't really have time to do anything but straight out the sheets and make sure it wasn't a wreck. The only thing he was glade he had was the Febreeze that his neighbor had suggested to get rid of the dusty smell all the apartments seemed to have.

"Calm down dumbass. She's just spending the night." Stuart had to talk himself down but the truth was he never really had a girl he actually dated stay the night. He'd dated, he'd hooked up but he'd never really held a girlfriend that slept over with him. He knew that if he was nervous, Abby would see it all over his face. He got a text about an hour after dropping her off that made him relax.

**Text from Abby:**   
_You know you don't have to clean up for me. Just hide your sex swing and make sure there's pizza and I'm content._

Stuart laughed to himself before texting back.

**Text to Abby:  
** _There goes my plan of eating and working out at the same time._

He knew Abby would laugh. He liked that she enjoyed his sarcasm, his humor. He didn't feel like he had to be so critical of everything when he was around her. He kept thinking about what Lindsay had said though. What if Abby was struggling a lot more than he was with money? His mom sent him money when he got really desperate but Abby worked three jobs. He couldn't even imagine doing as much as she does. He felt like he really needed to know the story of what happened with this ex boyfriend to know why she was so scared of doing photo shoots. Abby was gorgeous. She could be a model any day of the week. It would be easy money for a girl struggling like she was but something this guy did to her must have truly messed her up if she was passing up on easy money.

Stuart took a shower and changed his clothes before doing one last sweep of his place and giving it a nod. He figured he could order the pizza on the way home and it would arrive by the time they got back. He took off towards the club and waited in the car for a few minutes. He wasn't sure if they'd let him in after closing or not so he just waited in the car until Abby came walking out the backdoor. She ran over to the car and jumped in smiling at him.

"Wow you look clean." She smirked making Stuart shake his head.

"Thanks? I showered." Stuart started the car up and drove back towards his place, trying to shake the nerves.

"How was work?" He asked making Abby snort.

"I got good tips when I ended up in an unexpected wet t shirt contest." Stuart quick braked on accident and Abby laughed. He looked over at her and she shook her head.

"You are so tense right now. Are you sure you really want me to spend the night?" Abby asked again as Stuart took a breath.

"Yes of course. I've already ordered the pizza and put the sex swing away. You've gotta stay now." Stuart joked. Abby reached over and took one of his hands and held it in her lap as he drove and he seemed to relax a lot more than he once was. Stuart carried her bag up the steps and actually met the pizza guy at the door. He let Abby open the door as he paid and carried it in. Even the pizza guy looked at him surprised but Stuart gave him the stink eye as he shut the door.

"Do you mind if I shower really quick? I smell like baby oil and expensive booze." Abby complained.

"Yeah of course. Let me get you a towel." Stuart walked into the bathroom and grabbed a towel from the linen closet and set Abby up. She walked in with a handful of clothes and started to undress.

"I'll um...be out here. Call me if you need me." Stuart ran out of hte bathroom and grabbed the plates and napkins. Abby didn't take too long in the shower but when she came out, she was wearing pajama shorts and a tank top that were making it very hard to focus. She jumped onto the couch and grabbed her plate before Stuart brought out two beers and sitting down next to her.

"This is really nice. I like spending nights in with you." Abby smiled at Stuart.

"Yeah it is actually nice to have some company. Usually I come home and work online." Abby pulled her legs underneath herself.

"Don't be mad but Lyle mentioned he was helping you get some side work. I'm not messing you up by being here right?" Abby asked biting her lip.

"What exactly did he tell you?" He pressed.

"Just that you asked if he knew anyone that needed some simple things done." Abby was a terrible liar and Stuart shook his head knowing he had told her about his dad flipping out on him the other day.

"I told you, I don't like taking money from my mom. The side jobs help pay back what she gives me. I mean it's no different from what you're doing with the studio and the club. Just trying to get by." Stuart said but Abby didn't pick up on him trying to fish information out of her.

"Actually the nightclub cash goes to pay off my tuition. I fell behind in some of my payments and if I don't catch up, I'll lose my spot at school so that's why I work so many jobs." Abby glanced over at Stuart and he thought back to Lindsay.

"What are you thinking about?" Abby nudged his shoulder and he put his pizza down.

"Well I guess I can't be mad at Lyle for telling you about my situation but you should know that Lindsay filled me in on why you don't want to be her model." Abby looked instantly embarrassed but Stuart touched her knee.

"Was that what you were asking me about earlier? The whole facing your fears or sacrificing your integrity?" Stuart asked making Abby shrug.

"It's just...working in the club, I know more skin gets me more money. Maybe it's stupid to have the standards that I have. I'd rather walk around topless rather than have to get back into the world of photography." Abby put her knees against her chest and Stuart swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Look I don't want to pressure you into talking to me about that guy but did he...did he like hurt you...physically?" Abby's eyes shot up and Stuart looked at her concerned.

"I know it's none of my business but I just get this vibe that you're like scared of the guy." Abby shook her head quickly.

"No no not afraid of him. I just...I hated who I was with him, because of him...I just." Abby growled frustrated, turning her body towards his.

"He was a charmer. That's what his job was. He charmed people and they basically fell hook, line and sinker. I was so into him that I didn't see what I was turning into. I've never been a clingy person, ever. But he made me feel like I needed him just to get by. So when I caught him cheating on me, I actually ignored it." Stuart's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"He had made me feel like it was my fault. I was weak and dependent and I hated myself." She breathed. Stuart was getting his mind blown with some serious truth right now.

"I flew to my aunts for Christmas one year and when I came back I found him in bed with an old friend of mine. He didn't even jump out of the bed. He just acted like I was an inconvenience for coming home, to my home." Abby rubbed at her arm like she felt gross just talking about him.

"I'd hit rock bottom after finally breaking it off with him. I was a mess. I couldn't even dance anymore. I got behind with school and almost lost my spot once before which is why they won't give me any breaks now." Abby ran her hand through her hair.

"To make an already long story short, I hated who I was and it took me a really long time to get back to loving myself. I'm afraid that going back into that world will make me feel less of who I am again." Abby admitted.

"Well it explains a lot." Stuart said making Abby snort.

"Wow thanks." She rolled her eyes.

"No I mean, you thinking that you aren't some super hot girl dating a Google intern, you have no idea how much of an 16 you are on a scale of 1 to 10. I'm glad you figured out who you are though. I think you're pretty great." Stuart smiled brightly making Abby lean forward on the couch and kiss him. She grabbed a hold of his neck and was about to swing her leg over his lap when there was a series of loud noises from outside his door. He jumped up quickly and unlocked his door.

"Stuart?!" Abby jumped up and followed him out the door to see him helping an elderly lady at the bottom of the steps who was picking up her groceries.

"Roberta, you know you can always buzz me. I thought we talked about this." Stuart gathered the woman's groceries as she held onto the banister.

"I knew you were having your girlfriend over and I didn't want to bother-" Stuart shook his head at the woman.

"Come on Roberta, you know our bond is unbreakable." Stuart looked up as Abby came down the steps in sweat pants and a jacket.

"Here let me take those and you help her." She offered.

"Oh she's lovely Stuart." Roberta looked at Abby and she smiled.

"Roberta this is Abby, Abby this is my lovely neighbor Roberta." Stuart introduced them and Roberta patted Abby's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Roberta." Abby walked up the stairs slowly to keep the pace with Stuart as he helped Roberta.

"Oh the pleasure is all mine sweetheart. Stuart, she looks like a movie star." Roberta whispered loudly and Abby blushed.

"I know I keep asking her to get glasses so she'll know who she's dating." Stuart teased earning a hit from both Abby and Roberta as he helped her into her apartment. Once he got her settled in, Abby watched him closely from the kitchen as she put her groceries in the fridge. Stuart had always thought of himself as a loner, unable to socialize with people but he had a kind heart. He didn't show it to many and he hid his insecurities under his intelligence and sarcasm but Abby saw much more than that in him.

"You two come over and have dinner sometime. I'd love that." Roberta smiled at them as they walked out the front door.

"Will do, make sure you lock the door okay?" Stuart said as he shut the door. He waited a few moments before using the key over the top to lock the top lock. When Stuart walked back into his apartment, Abby was standing there staring at him.

"Sorry about that. I know we were in the middle of a serious talk but she's-" Abby crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Stuart's neck kissing him suddenly. Stuart's eyebrows went up and he held his arms out surprised by the kiss before letting his hands go to her back to pull her closer. He wasn't quite sure what the kiss was for but whatever he managed to do to be rewarded with such enthusiasm, he'd gladly continue doing it.

When she stepped back he looked at her confused and a bit saddened she was no longer kissing him.

"I like who I am now too but I like who I get to be around you too." Abby said softly with her arms still around Stuart's neck.

"Good because I like how I feel about myself when I'm with you." Stuart said honestly earning himself another kiss.

"You know, you can play up the whole cocky jerk thing all you want but I just watched you help your elderly neighbor with her groceries. Face it Twombly, you're a softy." Stuart laughed into the kiss and shook his head.

"It's getting late. We should probably get to bed." Abby suggested. Stuart nodded his head and started locking up his front door and cleaning up the living room, putting the pizza in the fridge.

"Do you have any sheets for the couch?" Abby asked making Stuart eyeball her.

"Why would you think I'd make you sleep on the couch?" Stuart asked confused.

"Well as much as I'd love to take advantage of your whole Superman thing, I don't think we're ready to get too physical just yet. Some guys only want girls in the bed if they're going to put out." Abby shrugged as Stuart pulled her by her waist towards him.

"You know why there's never been a good Superman movie? Because no one wants to be Superman." Stuart pulled on Abby's hand and she cocked her eyebrow.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Abby asked one last time before Stuart opened the door to his room and gestured for her to come in. She turned the lamp off before walking in and looking at his bed. It looked comfortable and but kind of old.

"Yeah so it's nothing like your bed but I've actually been saving up for a really nice one. I figured if I got the job at Google, it'd give me a reason to splurge for a big, comfy one." Stuart explained.

"That's practical." She sat down on the bed and it moved slightly hitting the wall. She covered her mouth and Stuart shook his head.

"Yeah, about the whole putting out thing. I doubt we'll be doing much in this bed considering it moves so much." He tried not to blush but Abby laughed.

"That's actually priceless. I like your old rickety bed." She smiled up at him and he rolled his eyes before getting kicking off his pants and getting into the bed with her. They both laughed the more the bed moved but when they finally settled in Abby was facing Stuart as he sat his glasses on the nightstand with his watch. He let out a sigh and smiled at her cuddling up with one of his pillows.

"Still freaking out?" Abby asked quietly.

"No not really. I'm actually kinda exhausted from being anxious all day. Now I feel really relaxed." Stuart's eyes grew a bit sleepy now that he was comfortable. Abby put her hand on his cheek to stroke up to his hairline.

"I'm glad you can relax with me in your bed." Abby felt Stuart searching for her under the covers and pulled her closer to him so he could lace their fingers together.

"You know I think you would make an amazing model." Stuart said honestly.

"Oh yeah? You think so?" Abby smiled.

"No I know so. You're beautiful. I know you're scared though and that's okay." Stuart accepted the fear and Abby appreciated that about him.

"What are you afraid of? Other than the ferris wheel, that is." Abby asked curiously.

"What makes you think I'm afraid of the ferris wheel?" Stuart lifted his head and Abby chuckled.

"The look of sheer terror you got when you thought I was going to make you ride it on our date." Abby reminded. Stuart rolled his eyes putting his head back against the pillow.

"I had a bad experience once..." Stuart filtered off and Abby stared at him like she was waiting for the story. He wiped down his face before rolling his eyes.

"My brothers thought it would be a good idea to help me get over a fear of heights by forcing me into one and then leaving me up there." Stuart explained. Abby's eyebrows pinned together.

"How old were you?" She inquired sitting up slightly.

"I was only 8 and I was so terrified to move that they actually closed the carnival with me on the thing. I was stuck at the top, in the cold for most of the night. When I didn't come home my mom called the police. By the time they found me, my dad was so pissed off that he never let me go to another carnival with Junior or Russ but I was so freaked out, I never really wanted to go back anyway." Stuart explained staring at the ceiling. Abby held a frown at him when he finally looked over at her.

"It's okay, I was 8. I've gotten over it." Stuart chuckled.

"I'm not sure I ever want to meet your brothers. They kind of sound like dicks." Abby said making Stuart smile.

"Well you kinda thought I was a dick when you met me." Stuart quirked his eyebrow at her.

"No I thought you were a jerk. A cute jerk with sexy beauty marks." Abby traced her fingernail over his moles on his face.

"You mean my moles? Not really sexy-" Abby covered his mouth with her hand.

"Take the compliment, nerd." Abby said making Stuart chuckle. Abby rested her chin on Stuart's chest looking at him.

"Would you ever considering going on the ferris wheel with me?" Abby tested and Stuart let out a sigh.

"I'll make a deal with you, you give the modeling thing a chance again and I'll let you take me on the ferris wheel." Stuart pitched making Abby's face dropped slightly.

"O-okay. Deal." She put her hand up and Stuart shook it. He pulled on her hand and brought her to his lips feeling how lazy hers were starting to get.

"Sleep now?" He mumbled against her lips.

"Mmmhmm." Stuart reached over and turned the lamp off and settled back so Abby could rest her head on his chest. Stuart held her close listening to her breathing slow down as she drifted off to sleep. Stuart looked down at her face and saw how peacefully she was. This was the second time they'd spent the night together and Stuart was able to hold her while she slept. He never realized how nice it felt to have someone in your arms at night. He grew nervous to just how comfortable he was growing with the feeling but tried to focus on the feeling of Abby holding onto him.


	11. Take Your Time

Abby rolled over in bed feeling extremely lazy and beyond comfortable. She opened her eyes quickly remembering she'd stayed the night at Stuart's but he was no longer in the bed beside her. She stretched out her arms and pulled the blanket up to her chest thinking maybe he'd just gotten up to use the bathroom but when she looked towards the bathroom, the light was off.

"Stuart?" She called out but got no answer. There's no way he'd have just left her there without waking her up to let her know where he was going. Abby sat up and realized how sticky her shirt was from sweating. Stuart wasn't kidding about how hot his apartment got. She pulled it off and put her bra back on before smelling coffee from the kitchen wafting under the door.

"I smell coffee!" Abby bounced on the balls of her feet as she headed out towards the kitchen in just her bra and underwear.

"Don't think just because you woke up with a breakfast boner that you're getting any. I'm horribly cranky in the morning and your apartment has basically forced me out of my clothes but the last thing I want to see is your-" Abby stopped talking the moment she saw an older woman sitting at the kitchen table with wide eyes. Stuart was also sitting at the table, eyes wide as Abby came out in her undergarments.

 **"** Oh wow…I didn't know Stuart had company." Abby wasn't sure who the woman was but Stuart looked like he'd gone into shock.

"Neither did I especially one so very naked." Abby started to try and cover herself up feeling her body start to flush from embarrassment.

"It's not what it looks like. I mean I know I was talking about boners and all that but I wasn't serious." Abby tried to backtrack everything she'd shouted as Stuart looked between the two of them.

"This is all sorts of awkward. So um Abby this is my mom, Mom this is Abby…my girlfriend." Stuart tried not to laugh as Abby wished she could just disappear but his mother moved towards her like she was trying to make the situation less strange.

"Oh of course. Hi, it's so nice to meet you. I'm so sorry for just dropping in unannounced." She put her hand to her head when she realized shaking Abby's hand while she was so undressed would probably be strange.

"No don't even worry about it. I just wish Stuart would have given me a heads up before I just paraded out here…half naked." Abby gritted her teeth making Stuart throw his arms out from behind his mom.

"He really should have. I'm sorry he can be a bit dense sometimes." Stuart looked at his mother and then back at Abby who squeezed her eyes shut.

"Yes, yes of course this is my fault. Awesome. I'm glad you both are hitting it off so well…on the fact that I suck." Stuart stood up and walked over to Abby but she put her hand up.

"It was really nice to meet you but I just realized that I need to go...die of embarrassment." Abby backed into the bedroom as Ella tried to speak up to make her feel less humiliated but she just shut the door knowing it was extremely rude. She ran her hands through her hair, pulling at it as she silently freaked out. She grabbed her bag and locked herself in the bathroom wishing she could reverse time. Abby had slowly started to get dressed before sitting on the floor of the bathroom kicking herself for walking out there and freezing. She should have at least put on a shirt or something.

20 minutes later there was a knock at the door that startled her.

"She's gone, you can come out now." Stuart's voice was light. She thought he might be pissed but the more she thought about it she was the one who should be pissed. That feeling went away when she realized how utterly upset with herself she was.

"Hey are you okay? Did you fall in?" Stuart sounded more concerned this time.

"I just need a minute." Abby managed to get out. She could hear Stuart moving around and it sounded like he was making the bed or at least fluffing the pillows on it. 5 more minutes passed before she heard him let out a heavy sigh.

"Can you at least open the door so I can see you?" Stuart asked.

"I think everyone's seen enough of me for the day, don't you think?" Abby said standing up to look at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and she put her hands on them.

"Are you seriously still freaking out?" Stuart asked incredulously with a laugh.

"I think I'm entitled to freak out a bit. I just met your mom half naked talking about cooking breakfast boners." Abby pinched the bridge of her nose just thinking about it.

"That's true but even despite that she seemed to really like you." Stuart said trying to coax her out of the bathroom but Abby rolled her eyes. There was no way his mother left thinking she was even remotely good enough for her son. If she was Stuart's mother, she would instantly think that her son had brought home a stripper or something.

"Would it help if I said I think you looked great for it being first thing in the morning." Stuart offered making Abby shake her head as if he could see her.

"Actually no Stuart that doesn't make me feel better at all." She said annoyed with him doing a really crappy job of making her feel better. There was a beat of silence before she could hear him sit down.

"Please come out here." Stuart's tone had changed and Abby opened the door to look at him. He wasn't laughing or teasing her. He actually looked remorseful.

"I just…didn't want to meet your mom like that. I know that she's special to you." Abby confessed hoping he wasn't about to tell her just how weird she had made things.

"You're right she is and I'm actually really glad you met her because I've never actually had a girl meet my mom before so that kind of makes you special too." Stuart clapped his hands together softly and Abby smiled softly at him before walking over and standing between his knees. He put his hand on her hips and looked up at her from his spot on the bed.

"And it didn't hurt that you were half naked because she can assume we're having sex which makes me look pretty awesome." Stuart couldn't help himself as he teased Abby who shoved him by his forehead back onto the bed.

"Oh my God you are literally the worst. Moment ruined, Twombly." Abby walked over to the dresser and Stuart laughed as he laid back on his bed watching her move around his room.

"You know you could have come back out once you'd gotten dressed. She'll be bugging me to bring you to lunch or something now." Stuart had his hands resting on his chest and Abby leaned against the dresser.

"Seriously? I mean I wouldn't be opposed to going to lunch with your mom, if you're cool with that. I'd definitely like a second first impression." Abby said picking up the mug Stuart had brought in with him and sipping it. It wasn't quite right but she'd drink it anyway.

"I think she's just glad I've made a friend let alone a girl that likes me enough to stay the night with me." Stuart chuckled. Abby sat down on the bed and he moved onto his side to look at her.

"I hope she isn't traditional." Abby sipped her coffee again as Stuart chuckled.

"She's not going to judge you for staying the night with me. Hell my dad and her caught Junior having sex on the couch once and we aren't talking like some PG13 stuff, we're talking bent over the couch, butt naked, slapping and swearing kind of sex." Stuart said making Abby laugh.

"You make it sound like sex in public." Abby shrugged.

"It was our family couch. We watched TV in there...my mom held book club on that couch." Stuart explained further.

"Does your mom read smutty romance novels?" Abby wiggled her eyebrows at Stuart and he cringed.

"Okay I guess I deserved that gross imagery after letting you walk out in your underwear but can we please call a truce now?" Stuart put his hand out and Abby took it. She leaned over him and kissed him softly before hovering over him.

"Spend the day with me." Stuart said making Abby smile.

"Doing what? It's got to be good for me to cancel classes. I don't work today anyway but I do have to pick up my check." Stuart rolled his eyes.

"We can pick your check up now and then just hang, I don't know. We can go to the pier again, get some lunch and I'll even win you something again. I just want to spend some time with you." Stuart said tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I could be down with that. Maybe we'll even get into a dirtier version of the 20 questions." Abby teased before pushing up from the bed.

"So basically the running theme of the day is boner killer?" Stuart teased earning a pillow to the face while Abby took her phone out into the living room to call the studio. By the time they left Stuart's apartment, picked up Abby's check from the club and got to the pier, it was around lunch time. Stuart let Abby pick the place this time and it ended up being an outdoor bar. The weather was holding up nicely and Stuart actually held onto Abby's hand the moment they stepped out of the car. Abby was glad she decided to spend the day just enjoying Stuart's company. She could relax and actually forget things when she was with him and she loved that about him.

"You looked a little bummed when you came out of the club. Was your check not what you were expecting?" Stuart asked as they walked.

"Yeah they shorted me 300$. It's a bunch of crap but it's not the first time and by the time I get it, I won't be able to use it. I'm trying not to let it ruin our outing." Abby cringed. She thought she'd hit her disappointment better but apparently not.

"Well I mean I could loan you-" Abby shook her head hard.

"Absolutely not." Stuart pulled on her hand feeling her pull away.

"It's not like I said I'd just give it to you. Who knows, I might trade you for a little TLC." Stuart joked but Abby rolled her eyes.

"First off, that's illegal and second, I'm not taking money from you. We're both in tight situations and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Abby said firmly making Stuart smile.

"It's a good thing you aren't religious. Pride is up there in the whole sinners guide to hellraisers but I get it. Just let me know if you need any help. I'm actually pretty good at my side work." Stuart offered.

"Are you insinuating that I'm not good at my job?" Abby tested.

"Well I don't really know. I mean I've seen you teach but I've never really gotten the full sit down experience at the club so-" Abby stopped Stuart by putting her hand on his chest.

"Maybe you should come by sometime and I'll make a lap dance exception for nerds." Abby pushed Stuart towards a restaurant and he nodded his head.

"I'll hold you to that." He let her guide him into the outdoor bar for lunch as he chuckle.

They sat down at a table and ordered drinks before Abby sat back in her chair to look at Stuart.

"Not to break open a fresh wound-" Stuart laughed.

"Oh no here it comes." Stuart prepared himself.

"Were you ever caught in the act like your brother?" Abby wiggled her eyebrows at Stuart seeing him blush slightly.

"Nothing like that." Stuart sipped his drink and Abby's eyes went wide.

"Oh do tell!" She rested her chin on her palm waiting for him to spill his guts.

"I was on the receiving end of a really awkward, dry hand job when my mom walked in. The girl froze with her hand in my pants and it was basically as mortifying as it sounds. When I told you you shouldn't worry about what happened today, I meant it. She's seen WAY worse." Stuart laughed.

"That does make me feel a little better." Stuart shoved Abby's shoulder.

"What about you?" Stuart asked curiously.

"Oh I've never been on the receiving end of a dry hand job." Abby teased.

"You're the worst." Stuart dismissed and Abby shook her head.

"I've never been caught by my dad but I was almost arrested once for getting caught on private property." Abby confessed.

"Having sex?" Stuart gaped.

"Yes having sex. I was young and there was no way I was taking him back to my house so we figured we'd try it in the back of his jeep. While I'm a big fan of sex in public, I don't recommend it in a jeep if the guy is taller than a munchkin." Stuart couldn't help but laugh.

"I didn't realize you were such a sex in public enthusiast. I'm learning so much about you." He bit his lip.

"Maybe I'll warm you up to it." Abby winked at him.

"I wouldn't mind that all." Stuart leaned over the table and kissed Abby quickly.

"Maybe I'll even let you get to 2nd base." Abby teased. Stuart laughed.

"I've never understood the whole bases thing. I mean I love baseball and I get sex would be a home run but what qualifies for the bases? And how in depth are we getting? Are there foul balls? I mean a no hitter is a good thing in baseball but if you used it as far as sex was concerned, I imagine it'd be more of a negative thing." Stuart rambled.

"Well I'm going to say a foul ball would be a dry hand job, wouldn't you?" Abby poked Stuart in the ribs and he swatted her hand.

"You're funny, truly." He pulled a face at her as she leaned forward onto the table.

"In my book, first base is making out above the clothes. Second would be like fondling under the clothes, maybe a little grinding. Third would be anything requiring a job and all the way would be sex obviously." Stuart's eyebrows went up.

"Wow baseball has never been such a turn on for me before. I'll probably never be able to go to a game without getting a boner now." Abby couldn't help but laugh at Stuart.

"Hey a girl has to have a method to the madness." Abby shrugged.

"Was your first time in the jeep with that guy?" Abby tilted her head to the side.

"If I say no will you judge me?" Stuart cocked his eyebrow at her.

"Have I judged you yet?" He answered her question with a question making he sigh.

"True. Then no he wasn't my first. My first was with a guy I had a crush on in grade school and trust me, it wasn't great. It was actually really awful and I cried after." Abby admitted seeing Stuart's face fall.

"Why did you cry?" Stuart asked hoping the guy hadn't hurt her but immediately regretted it thinking he might have.

"I was so young and struggling with my mom not being around for me turning into a woman...I just kept thinking my mom would be so ashamed of me for just jumping into bed with someone like that. I totally freaked the guy out and he bailed but I just remembering sitting in the shower for like 2 hours afterwards crying my eyes out." Stuart reached across the table and Abby shook her head.

"I'm fine. I mean I've grown a lot since then and I've never really met anyone with a super happy story about their first time so I actually feel normal in that aspect." Abby could tell Stuart was trying to comfort her but she didn't want to bring the mood of their date down. She was having too much fun just being with him and pushing his buttons.

"Yeah mine was pretty quick and the girl gave me a hand shake as I was leaving so needless to say, it probably wasn't that great for either of us." Stuart's frown lightened and Abby smiled.

"Honestly I think when you're young and have sex, for girls it's all about making sure the guy gets off but the guy is NEVER worried about getting the girl off." Stuart narrowed his eyes at Abby.

"I don't think that's necessarily true. I cared a lot about getting the girl off but who the hell knows what they're doing when they're young? I at least tried." Abby reached over and patted Stuart's chest.

"I think that's really sweet. It's not every day a guy is a considerate lover." Stuart blushed leaning towards her but before he could say anything someone cleared their throat making them both look back at him.

"Hey sweetheart, when you're done slumming in geektown, give me a call." The bro in board shorts and a backwards visor slipped a piece of paper onto the table in front of Abby. Stuart looked stunned but was about to push his chair back when Abby picked up the piece of paper and handed it back to him.

"I'm sorry but I don't date big dicks, I only date guys _with_ big dicks. Move along now." Stuart watched the guy look at her thrown for a moment before walking out.

"Sorry about that." Abby apologized as if her being attractive was a reason for some guy to be an asshole.

"Don't apologize for being approached by a tool...or saying I have a big dick. I mean I'm glad you have high hopes for my anatomy." Stuart teased seeing Abby's cheeks blush.

"Don't get cocky." She shoved Stuart and he put his hands up.

"You know I really like that about you. I like that you don't take people's shit." Abby patted Stuart's hand at the compliment.

"Not even yours." She added.

"Yeah not even mine but I secretly think you like arguing with me." Stuart sipped his drink as Abby rolled her eyes. Their food arrives at the table and they proceed to talk about foods that should and shouldn't be used in the bedroom while they eat. Abby can't help but notice just how open Stuart has become after one sleepover. He still sputters over some things but she finds it cute that he's still got a shock level in his very sarcastic brain.

"That's disgusting. Why don't you just eat chips off someone's chest?" Stuart laughed at Abby's ridiculous claim that she'd eat any snacks of someone.

"I'm more of a popcorn girl. Don't even act like you wouldn't get turned on if I ate popcorn off of your body." She challenged just as his phone started to ring. He looked at the screen and his eyes went wide.

"Do you think you can keep the boner talk to a minimum? It's my mom." He held up the phone and she gave him the finger.

"Hey Mom...What? No I paid that...well then I don't know why he's freaking out but he can't have that money. That's my money, I earned it." Stuart lowered his voice and turned away from Abby.

"No I'm not at the apartment, I'm having lunch with Abby right now...She says Hi?" Stuart looked over at Abby.

"Tell her I said hi back and that I'm sorry about earlier." Abby cringed but Stuart shook his head repeating what she said. He waved her off as Abby caught sight of Lindsay passing by the restaurant. Abby gestured outside and Stuart gave her a nod understanding she was going outside.

"Linds! Hey what are you doing down here?" Abby called out surprising Lindsay.

"Hey! I was just scouting some locations. I figured I could stall my boss from being super pissed if I sent him shots of the locations I'd want to take pictures at. What are you doing here?" She was clearly still salty that Abby had turned her down about the job but after seeing the check she got earlier and Stuart readily trying to come out of his pocket made her nervous.

"Stuart and I are having lunch. He's on the phone with his mom right now." Abby gestured back and Lindsay looked over her shoulder catching Stuart's eye line. He faked a smile and waved two fingers earning a mocked wave back.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Lindsay asked narrowing her eyes.

"I cancelled my lessons for today. Stuart didn't have to go to HQ today so he wanted to spend the day with me." Abby shrugged.

"He has that luxury Abby, you don't." Lindsay rolled her eyes annoyed that she was wasting her time off instead of busting her ass to make sure she stayed in school.

"I know, you're right. I got my check from the club and it was 300$ short." Lindsay clicked her tongue to her teeth.

"The people are great but management sucks. You should have come out of that place a long time ago." She ranted.

"Stuart offered to loan me the money." Abby added seeing Lindsay's eyebrows go up.

"Seriously? What did he want? Blowies?" Lindsay joked but Abby hit her arm glancing back at Stuart pulling money out of his pocket to pay for their meal.

"He wanted nothing. He wanted to help me out and I told him no." Lindsay could see the panic on Abby's face.

"Well then you should be at work. You can't just-" Abby cut Lindsay off knowing that Stuart would be approaching them soon and she didn't want to miss her opportunity.

"Fine, I'll do it." Abby blurted. Lindsay looked her over for a moment.

"I'm sorry, what are you referring to?" She asked squinting at her best friend.

"The stupid modeling job. I'll do it." Abby looked back to see Stuart was handing the bill back to the waiter.

"Are you sure because you don't seem very sure." Lindsay smirked at her and Abby rolled her eyes.

"Don't be a bitch Linds. The money will go to school and the money I make from the lessons and the club will go towards personal stuff." Abby explained. Lindsay hated that Abby had to work so hard to get by but she actually thought it was pretty decent of Stuart to offer. Most guys wouldn't be so generous, especially guys who had to fend for themselves too.

"You know, it's okay for boyfriends to offer a helping hand right? You don't have to take it but it's still sweet of him to offer." Lindsay stepped closer to Abby seeing that Stuart was approaching.

"It's not about him. It's about me. I'm not going to be another burden on his plate. I've always supported myself, that's not going to change." Abby said quickly feeling a hand on her back.

"Hey Nerdburger." Lindsay greeted Stuart who just shook his head.

"Hey I see you can come out in the daylight without bursting into flames. That's progress." Stuart smiled at Lindsay who chuckled at his lame joke.

"Oh your wit astounds me some days but as much as I'd love to spar with you, I've got actual work that needs to be done." Lindsay leaned in and kissed Abby's cheek.

"I'll give my boss a call. A/C is working again so whenever you get tired of putting up with him the apartment is fit." Abby gave Lindsay a squeeze and whispered a thank you into her ear before Lindsay nudged past Stuart. He shook his head at her and looked at Abby.

"Well I'd say she's warming up to me." He teased.

"How are things with your mom?" Abby asked curiously.

"She's fine but she's going to drop something off at my place though. My dad's being a headcase and she wants to make sure I've got a copy of the beach house since I left the other one there." Stuart waved it off before putting his arm over her shoulders.

"So they've all finally gotten here for the big wedding huh?" They started walking down the boardwalk and Stuart huffed.

"Not yet. My parents are here and so is Junior's fiancee, Katie but my brothers haven't actually gotten here yet." Stuart said with a shrug.

"How much do you have to actually do for this wedding?" Abby asked knowing that Stuart hadn't talked much about it.

"Well I'm the best man-" Abby hit his chest.

"You didn't tell me that! That's a big deal." She laughed.

"I've been trying to get out of it. It makes more sense for Russ to be his best man but they've decided to torture me with the task. Russ said he'd take care of the bachelor party so the only real task I have to do is say a speech and make sure the rings are in the right place." Stuart said like it was no big deal and Abby patted his chest as they walked.

"I'm sure it you'll do great and look amazing doing it." She ran her hand down his chest making him laugh.

"Well if you haven't gotten sick of me by then you'll get to see. I mean I need a date right?" Abby smiled at him.

"You want me to be your date for your brothers wedding?" She questioned.

"Well I was going to ask Lyle but I'm afraid he'd try to start rapping on the mic so-" Abby shook her head at the image in her head.

"Hell yeah I want you to be my date. Did you really think I would want to go alone?" Stuart asked baffled that Abby even thought he wouldn't ask her.

"I wasn't sure, I mean I didn't plan on meeting your mom today. I just thought you would want to do that own your own." Stuart smiled at her before kissing her cheek.

"You just told off a guy in a bar all while making me look pretty awesome. Maybe having some extra kick at my side will be good for me." Abby leaned her head to the side to kiss Stuart.

"I'll go with you to the wedding but I'd like to at least have lunch with your mom before the actual wedding. I seriously don't want to go from almost naked to formal attire." Abby leaned her head on Stuart's shoulder making him sigh.

"She already said she want's to have lunch with you so I'll make something happen." Abby smiled to herself. The money she'll be making with Lindsay should make taking days off easier. At least that's what she hoped for. She would love more days like this with Stuart.

"What was Lindsay doing out here? She's not still keeping tabs on me is she?" Stuart asked with a laugh but Abby nodded her head. He took notice instantly.

"Is something wrong?" He pressed stopping and turning towards her. Abby put both her hands on the front of Stuart's chest and let out a sigh.

"No actually I took your advice...I took the modeling gig." Stuart's eyebrows went up.

"Oh yeah? That's good news right? I mean I know you were pretty against it before." Stuart understood why Abby was hesitant about the job and was curious as to why she decided to take it but he didn't want to pry.

"Yeah the money will help with school and such. I won't have to work as many hours so that's a plus. I think maybe you give me that little bit of an extra push too, you know?" Stuart smiled.

"I don't know how I do that. I mean you seem pretty tough on your own." He laughed at the thought of him somehow pushing Abby to do anything. She's so strong willed and independent, sometimes he worried she'd get bored of him.

"Something about the way you treat me. I mean I've had at least three jobs for awhile now and no one has ever really made me feel like I was actually doing something with my life like you have. It's always just been dancing to me but you make me feel more important. I like that feeling. I like the way you look at me, I like the way you make me feel about myself and what I do. Just knowing you think I'm pretty tough gives me some extra assurance." Stuart put his hands on Abby's neck and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I worry sometimes that you'll get tired of me but then you go and say shit like that to me." He kisses her this time and Abby feels him pulling her flush against him. She likes when Stuart gets a bit more forceful.

"Someone's feeling adventurous." Abby mumbled after Stuart nibbled on her bottom lip.

"You bring that out in me I guess." Stuart pulled Abby as close as he could get her and she glanced over his shoulder.

"So since I'm facing some of my fears today maybe you'd like to do the same?" Abby tested making Stuart laugh.

"I never said I was afraid of public sex-" Abby laughed cutting him off and turning his head towards what she was referring to. Stuart's eyes got a bit wider under his glasses and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Seriously? You won't give up on the Ferris Wheel? I think I'd rather do the public sex." Stuart frowned as Abby squeezed his hands.

"Hey you said sometimes you have to face your fears. Let me replace a really bad experience with a much better one. I promise, I'll be gentle." Abby whispered into Stuart's ear licking his earlobe. Stuart bit his lip really not wanting to go on the Ferris Wheel but she wanted him to feel like he was safe with her.

"I won't make you. We can just walk around some or hang out at the beach. I just kind of wanted to give you something you gave me." Abby rubbed Stuart's back. He looked over at her and nodded his head.

"If I puke, you can't judge me." He warned making her smile.

"You won't puke." She took his hand and led him to the Ferris Wheel. There wasn't a line which was nice. Any longer and Stuart might try and take off. He fidgeted in the seat and tried to keep his breathing steady.

"It's okay. You're going to be fine." Abby held onto his hand and could feel his hands shaking, knee bouncing up and down. He closed his eyes and jumped when it started to move.

"I think I might puke...or pass out. Does it count if I pass out? I really think I'm going to pass out. Jesus why is this so high up?! This should be illegal." Stuart was freaking out and struggling to catch his breath when Abby grabbed his face.

"Look at me! You're okay, you're with me. Just be right here with me okay?" Abby held his eye contact and she could tell he was scared but she could also tell he felt ashamed that she saw him this terrified. Abby stroked her hands down his neck and he let out a heavy breath on her face before she pulled his lips to hers hard. Stuart put his hand on her arm surprised but kissed back. The kiss wasn't like any of their other kisses. Abby wanted him to be okay, she wanted him to get lost with her like she did with him. She hooked her leg over his lap and pull him flush against her as she ran her tongue over his bottom lip. Stuart responded with a groan and met her tongue halfway. Stuart pushed Abby's body to the side of the bucket they were sitting in and Abby chuckled against his lips. When they finally came to a stop, Stuart looked dazed.

"Wow...that was...I could do that again." He chuckled smugly.

"You heard the man, one more time please!" Abby said looking at the man who'd let them on. He rolled his eyes and hit the button for Stuart and Abby to take one more ride. The spent the rest of their day together, unable to keep their hands off of one another. It made things really interesting when they were on the beach and had some boardwalk security tell them to get a room. They'd tried to focus on some games but it was no use. Stuart could barely throw a baseball without Abby smacking his ass to distract him.

When the rain finally showed up, the two ran to the car for cover. They both shook off and laughed at one another. Mostly Abby laughing at Stuart who slipped and fell on the way to the car but he was a good sport about it.

"You were just going to leave me there to die! You're the worst." Stuart took his glasses off and put them in the center console.

"It's not my fault you're clumsy." Abby teased making Stuart's mouth gape open.

"I'm clumsy?! Wow now I know you got too much sun today. If the queen of clumsy thinks I'm the one who can't stay on their feet-" Abby hit his chest before he could finish.

"I was going to get you food but now I've changed my mind." She started up the car and Stuart leaned over the console. Abby kept her hands on the wheel and tried not to smirk as he kissed at her neck.

"I'm sorry...if you get me some nuggets, we can go back to my place and I'll rub your feet. Sound good?" Stuart kissed Abby's shoulder as she drove. She shook him off and rolled her eyes.

"You have a serious problem with nuggets. You had nuggets for lunch." Abby said as she drove and Stuart sat back in his seat.

"I love chicken nuggets. Don't be jealous." Stuart teased. Abby pulled up to the McDonald's and Stuart kissed her before running to the doors. She gave him her order and he practically skipped inside. She laughed to herself watching how he carried himself. He was a real goofball when he wasn't worried about getting the job at Google or his dad calling. He was light and fun and made Abby feel like she could actually act her age instead of worrying about everything in her life that needed order. She watched him come out defeated with no food.

"What's wrong?" Abby rolled her window down.

"They didn't have nuggets. I only wanted nuggets." He said completely disregarding the entire order.

"Are you really that strung out about nuggets?" She questioned seeing his frown was serious. She shook her head at him and rolled her eyes.

"Oh my god, get in the car, I'll drive you to another one." She said rolling up her window as Stuart ran around and got into the passenger seat.

"Seriously? Is this what having a girlfriend is about because this is awesome." He asked pulling out his phone. Abby pulled out of the parking lot and headed down a few blocks to the other McDonald's that was a 24/7 drive thru.

"I feel like an enabler right now. You have a chicken nugget addiction that should be addressed." Abby teased. Stuart took out his phone and started recording an Instagram video while Abby placed their order and drove around to pick it up. She actually paid this time out of pocket and Stuart smiled as he took the bags of food from her.

"Let it be known people of Instagram that Abby Clark is the best girlfriend around." Abby looked over at Stuart and saw he was recording a video.

"Let it be known people of Instagram that Stuart Twombly is a closet fatty." She said as he ended the video and posted it to his Instagram.

"Seriously thought...thank you. For everything, for meeting my mom even though it didn't' go like you expected, for spending the day with me and helping me face a fewer of mine. Today was awesome." Stuart leaned over and Abby met him halfway.

"I'd like to spend more days with you like this...maybe not meeting your mom half naked-" Stuart shook his head.

"I'm not opposed to starting our morning's half naked." Stuart cut her off and Abby smirked.

"Maybe next time you'll be the half naked one." She suggested and Stuart's eyebrows went up.

"If you're lucky." Stuart kissed Abby again and she put her hand on his cheek. Someone interrupted by clearing their throat and Abby looked back at the guy in the McDonald's window who was waiting for them to drive on. She laughed giving him a wave of apology before driving out of the line.

Stuart kept his word when they got back to his apartment. They ate their dinner and each took a hot shower before settling on the couch so Stuart could rub Abby's feet while they watched a movie. Abby had pulled Stuart away from her feet and massaged his scalp until he passed out on her chest and that's how she feel asleep. Holding onto this guy that she didn't plan to meet, didn't plan to even like but was quickly falling much faster than she'd ever fallen for someone ever. It was a rush and she didn't know if it was fear or excitement that outweighed it all but she smiled down at his relaxed face as he slept on top of her. Thing's were going to change with the new job. They would have all the time in the world to see where these feeling's led and Abby was actually excited about thinking further than just the summer with Stuart.


	12. All In The Hips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this point on, the story has it's E rating for a reason. Just a heads up.

**[Abby's POV]**

I rolled over in bed stretching out my arms trying to rid my body of any lingering tiredness. Today was going to be a long, exhausting day. I started going over all the things I had to do today, closing my eyes wishing that I could just be lazy all day but knowing I didn't have that luxury. My hand skimmed Stuart's pillow and I remembered him rushing out early after getting a call about a new challenge. Apparently Mr. Chetty set them up with another challenge that was worth half the points of a normal challenge but they couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some much needed. I was all for it. I knew how hard they'd all been working to teach Dad and Nick everything there was to know about computers, as quickly as they could. I was happy that Stuart was taking dad under his wing. I couldn't help but breathe in Stuart's leftover scent from his pillow. He had started leaving one of his pillows here along with a change of clothes in case he needed to stay longer than expected or take off early. I didn't mind though. I liked smelling his body wash and lingering cologne when he wasn't here. I rolled over and checked my phone.

**Text from Stuart:**   
_Hey text me when you're up._

I rolled out of bed and decided to get dressed before actually texting Stuart back. He didn't reply though. Instead he sent me a Skype request which instantly made me thankful I'd at least brushed my hair. Stuart popped up with a smile and I couldn't help but return it.

"Wow you're up up. I thought you'd still be in pajamas." Stuart looked surprised.

"You aren't the only one with things to do today, you know." I said confidently making Stuart shake his head.

"5 to 1, you aren't wearing pants." Stuart said making me glance down at my bare legs.

"Shut up. What do you want or are you missing me already? I mean I know I'm awesome but that's just clingy." I caught Stuart trying to hide his smirk but he was far too much of a menace to let me get away with walking around pantless.

"Well you may have noticed that I'm not wearing my glasses which means I'm suffering through today with these stupid contacts." I glanced at the nightstand and picked up his glasses.

"You managed to put deodorant on right? I mean leaving your eyes is pretty slow for you." I twirled the glasses around in my hand taunting him as faked a laugh.

"I'm serious. Where's your head at Twombly? How are you supposed to perform at your best now?" I continued to torture Stuart and he just shook his head. He was able to see without his glasses but he could concentrate better with his glasses on. He seemed more in his element when he had his glasses on but whenever he was with me, he didn't mind going without.

"Are you done yet or do you need another minute to taunt me?" Stuart narrowed his eyes at me through the phone and I let out another laugh before controlling myself.

"I'm sorry." I put my hands up in surrender and he rolled his eyes.

"So are you going to bring me my glasses or are you going to leave me blind all day?" Stuart asked rubbing his eyebrow.

"Hey it's not my fault you left your glasses here." I defended.

"Actually it's totally your fault. You made me late with your sleeping death grip." I blushed remembering vaguely trying to coax Stuart back into the bed but couldn't get the energy to bribe him with anything more than a half conscious promises.

"First of all, you love it. Second, you're the one who slept through three of Neha's calls." I reminded him thinking of how quickly he scrambled once he realized there was a challenge he was going to miss. It's not surprising he forgot his glasses. He's actually kind of cute when he rushes.

"Details." Stuart watched me twirl his glasses around in my hand.

"I've got to have lunch with my dad but I can stop by after to bring you your glasses. Can you survive until then?" I looked at my phone and saw a text from Lindsay. She had gotten all the shoot locations drawn up for me and wanted to go over them today before I had to go to work and figure out how I was going to move my schedule around to afford for everything. I was planning on having lunch with my dad before going to work so it shouldn't be too much to drop his glasses at his place.

"I guess I can. I have to shower between now and then though so use the key above the door to let yourself in." I smiled at Stuart. Thing's had been getting a little heavy as far as the sexual tension was concerned but neither of us really addressed it. I wasn't sure if he was trying to be respectful or if he truly wasn't ready.

"Is that your subtle way of trying to get me to come shower with you?" I tried to get Stuart to admit to the tension but he never would.

"First off, how dare you. Second, I have a very roomy shower so do with that information what you will." Stuart's sarcasm had become one of my favorite qualities. Some might want to punch him for it but I thought it was endearing. After learning about his childhood and how he was treated in high school, it was nice to see him use his sarcasm to make her laugh instead of trying to push people away.

"Seriously though, you okay until I can drop the glasses off? I can see if Linds will ride with me and we can-" Stuart shook his head at me.

"No I'd rather not step on her toes. We already have a love-hate relationship where she loves to hate me so don't worry about it. I can wait until after." Stuart sighed dramatically.

"If you're sure. Good luck on the challenge. Did you find out what it is yet?" I asked genuinely interested. I wasn't super high tech but I enjoyed hearing Stuart talk about thing's that he was interested in.

"It's a coding challenge again. We've got two hours to work it out and luckily Graham's looking for one of his team members so we might actually have a chance. I'm about to head back in so I'll call you later okay?" Stuart started to get up and I smiled.

"Go win one for Team Lyle!" I pumped her fist in the air and Stuart shook his head.

"Don't humor him and don't forget your pants." He said with a wink before ending the Skype. I stayed in bed for a little while longer checking my emails from school and seeing that there was a scholarship opportunity for the end of the summer that I could try out for but I silently hoped I could just pay the school back instead of having to take a scholarship away from someone else. I jumped out of bed when I heard the front door open and knew it was time to get to work. Lindsay came striding in with a huge binder.

"We aren't planning a wedding Linds. What the hell is all that?" I sat down on the couch next to her as she opened the binder.

"This my lovely friend is your schedule, venues, collectors we will be shooting for and wardrobe. Hopefully you'll be able to coordinate with the club and your lessons. I've tried to stick with the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday's that you had asked for but some of these we're already behind on." Lindsay handed me the schedule and I looked it over. Shooting would start in just a few days and I was already feeling the instant weight of this project.

"Just take a breath and remember that this money is going to keep you in school and your bestest friend in the whole wide world in the business." Lindsay smiled at me as I skimmed over what I would be modeling.

"Calvin...you got a Calvin Klein shoot?! How the hell did you score that?" I was in complete shock. Name brands were easy to get but ones that were already a huge empire didn't typically let people freelance.

"I know a guy who owes me a favor. Besides I sent them that picture of you in that Marky Mark getup from senior year. You've got the ass for underwear modeling sweetheart." Lindsay gave me a shove and I covered my mouth.

"I knew this was a big deal but Linds...this is huge. Some of these names are like really...oh my God!" I was so excited for Lindsay. She worked so hard to get where she is an I felt honored that she'd picked me to be apart of this.

"I'm so sorry I ever gave you crap. This is amazing. Thank you for taking me on this huge journey with you." I kissed her cheek and she laughed.

"Your attitude has changed drastically since the last time we talked. Stuart must be good at something if he's gotten you to ease right into this whole thing. Before you wanted to drag your feet. I guess I owe him one." Lindsay got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen.

"I actually have to take him his glasses in a little bit before lunch with my dad." Lindsay laughed from the kitchen.

"Did you screw the guys brains out that he actually forgot his glasses?" I shook my head at her question.

"He was running late. There was no screwing." I explained going through the rest of the binder. There was actually a few photo shoots that I knew were going to be fun.

"Oh do you think maybe I could possibly keep one of these dresses from the shoot? Stuart invited me to his brother's wedding and I don't really have anything elegant enough for a wedding." Lindsay came back into the living room eying me strangely.

"Have you already met his family?" She plopped down with a drink in her hand.

"No but I mean...I'm sure I will before the wedding. He's the best man so-" Lindsay cut me off.

"So you're going to be his really hot model girlfriend that he gets to show off?" I couldn't figure out what Lindsay was trying to say but I wasn't liking where this was going.

"Okay before you jump my shit I'm not implying anything. I think it's cute that you're going to be his wedding date but maybe you should meet the family before you start worrying about what you're wearing. I mean I know you're boning but you might need to feel them out a bit too so you know if Vera Wang is really appropriate." Lindsay smiled.

"Can you please stop saying things like that?" I groaned in frustration.

"Stuff like what?" She questioned my annoyance.

"The sex stuff. Can you please stop bringing that up, it's really annoying." I flipped the next page of the binder as Lindsay shook her head at me.

"Clearly he's not doing a good job of it if you're having such sudden mood swings." I looked over at Lindsay but she got up quickly knowing I didn't want to sit here and defend my sex life, or nonexistent sex life.

"Maybe nerd bird can work some of that tension out with his insufferable tongue. I'm sure it's good for something considering how much he runs his mouth." She eyed me letting me know she was joking which made me sigh before leaning back on the couch.

"We actually haven't explored that just yet." She laughed thinking I was joking.

"You're joking right? You've been together over a month and you haven't gotten in his pants? Are you sure this boy likes girls?" Lindsay teased making me throw a pillow at her.

"Can you stop please? He's a gentlemen and I told him I wanted to take things slow. He's just respecting that." I explained watching as Lindsay lean on the table looking seriously concerned.

"Honey, if I was with a man for more than a month, you better believe he'd have learned how to get me off twice over or he wouldn't even get to look at my ass." I rubbed my eyes knowing that Lindsay was right. I was dragging my feet and I was making myself frustrated. It wasn't even Stuart's fault.

"And what if sex complicates things? What if it messes things up?" I questioned terrified of ruining the good thing we had going now. Lindsay took a few moments to stare at me before walking over and sitting on the table in front of me.

"I think that you're stronger than you once were and that he's already the luckiest guy in California just having you look at him." She wasn't joking and she wasn't trying to make light of the situation. She was being serious. I reached out and took her hand out of her lap.

"I wouldn't know what to do without you, you know that right?" I pulled her into my chest and hugged her tightly. She rubbed my back for a few moments before pulling away.

"Now let's get this thing worked out so you can go and tell that punk you want to blow his top." Lindsay said making me cringe.

"Must you be so-" She stopped me.

"Blunt? Yes darling. It's what I'm good at." Lindsay sat down next to me once more and we started going over the agenda. We spent almost an hour going over the shoots, wardrobe fittings and just how much I'd be making for the shoots. When I finally left the apartment, I grabbed lunch and headed to HQ. I spotted dad sitting at a lunch table with the same guy he'd been eating with his first few days at Google.

"Hey baby, you just missed Stuart. He had to head home but you're in for a treat. My main man, Headphones here was trying to help your dear old dad out. Headphones this is my daughter Abby. The one I was telling you about." I smiled at the guy and he shook his head as if he wasn't trying to speak to me.

"Oh don't mind him. He's just not good with people." I sat down next to my dad and he kissed my head before opening the bag I had brought.

"So how did the challenge go?" I asked as I pulled out my sandwich.

"Oh we won! Neha killed it!" Dad mumbled with his mouth full.

"That's great! I can't believe it! Congrats!" I hit my hands on the table excitedly trying not to spit my food out on my dad before hugging him.

"Yeah it was awesome. Stuart and Lyle were giving Nicky and me the play by play as she basically managed to crush the entire competition. Got us back in the game." Dad explained sounding so proud of his team. It gave me some serious butterflies to know that they were edging their way back into this thing.

"That's seriously so great Dad. I can't believe it. I'm so proud of all of you." Dad reached over and patted Headphones on his shoulder.

"Thanks to this guy, I'm actually understanding what the hell everyone's saying. I'm not a complete bum on this team." Dad smiled thankfully at Headphones and he gave him a nod.

"I actually have to go-" Before Dad could praise him anymore, Headphones grabbed his tray and took off towards the building.

"He's really not good with words but he's a stand up guy." Dad defended.

"I have no doubts. You've always been a good judge of character." I smiled.

"So how are things with you and Stu? I assume he was late because he spent the night at your place." Dad eyed me as I suddenly felt like disappearing in my seat.

"Dad can we not?" I put my hand on my forehead and tried not to make eye contact.

"What? You're both adults and you're dating. As long as he treats you right and you're safe-" I put my hands up.

"Dad! Come on!" I pleaded.

"Seriously you're acting like such a baby. Come on sweetheart. I'm not completely oblivious." I shook my head at my dad.

"I love that you care but can we please not talk about my sex life? I mean it's just weird." I admitted seeing him surrender.

"Fine I won't ask but I would like to get to know the kid on a bit more of a personal level. I mean he is dating my daughter and we could be working together someday." He took a bite of his pizza and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well I'm all for that as long as your idea of getting to know him doesn't include talking about our sex life." I pointed at him sternly and he put his hands up.

"Hey I get it. I wouldn't want to talk about it with my old man either. It's nice to see how happy you make him. I mean when I first met the kid, I could tell he definitely had some pent up aggression but he's done a complete turn around." I fought a smile thinking that I had anything to do with Stuart's attitude change.

"Trust me, he's still a snarky asshat but I like to think that he's become more comfortable in this element. He's thriving and actually making friends." I explained but he just smiled at me.

"I guess it helps having a girl who believes in him too. I know it always helped me." I looked up at dad at the mention of mom. He rarely did that anymore. I reached out and put my hand on top of his.

"She'd be proud of you, you know?" I held his gaze and smiled softly at him.

"She'd be proud of you too." He leaned over and kissed my forehead before resuming eating.

"I actually booked some modeling gigs with Lindsay for the next couple of weeks. It should help out a lot with school so-" Dad threw his hands up.

"That's great! I was worried you'd have to be bar-tending like crazy to keep up but that's a real relief." Dad hugged me to his side and I nodded. There were plenty of times where I considered telling my dad I was more than a bartender but he'd probably lose his mind. There were a few things he could take but knowing that I had to dance on stage in anything less than a tutu would make him feel horrible. It was just an unnecessary detail that would complicate a lot of things.

"We're doing an X-Men movie marathon tomorrow night. The kids want to show us who the real Charles Xavier is. You should come. I know Neha has been missing some female interaction." Dad bumped my shoulder with his own and I nodded.

"Yeah that sounds good. I get off work at like 7 so I can bring dinner." I volunteered.

"I'll have the gang shoot you an email of what they want." Dad finished up his food and I gathered it into a trash pile before checking my phone.

"I have to drop Stuart's glasses off before work." I stood up and he stood with me.

"I'll ride with you. Keep Stuart company and maybe get to know him a little bit more." I laughed at my dad but he seemed to be serious.

"Um okay. I guess but you have to promise me not to even mention sex okay? Seriously." I warned my dad as we started towards my car. He hugged me to his chest as we walked. I tried to text warn Stuart before we got there but he never texted back.

"Wow this is actually pretty nice for a college kid." Dad said as we walked up the steps to his apartment. I reached above the door to grab the key and heard dad chuckle under his breath at me. I didn't pay him any attention as I let myself into the apartment.

"Stuart? I hope you're decent. I brought-" Stuart walked out in nothing but a towel that hung low on his hips, water dripping down his chest as he pulled a towel from over his head. I couldn't help but stare. I'd seen Stuart in his boxers but this was totally different.

"Finally! It's hard to find underwear when you're-" Stuart froze seeing dad standing behind me.

"Wow things just got kinda weird." Dad spoke up clapping his hands. Stuart's hands dropped to the front of his towel as a blush crept up his bare chest.

"What? No this? This isn't weird. I'm cool with this. What's up Billy?" Stuart tried to play it off and I shook my head wishing he'd just turned back around.

"Well Abby said she was dropping by to see you and I figured I'd tag along and spend some quality time with you. I think it's about time to really dig under all those smarts and see the man dating my daughter." Stuart's eyes went wide.

"Y-yeah yeah sure that's...cool. I'm totally down for that. Little bit of...quality time." Stuart used his arms to cross over his chest only further distracting me.

"Stuart?" I cleared my throat and made him look at me.

"How about you go put some pants on?" I suggested still clutching his glasses.

"Yeah I can do that. Make yourself at home. I'll just be..." Stuart ran into his bedroom door and I tried not to laugh. I turned around to look up at my dad and he bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"Don't even." I pointed at him.

"I wasn't even going to touch it. You should at least give the poor boy his glasses." He nodded towards the bedroom door and I pointed to the couch for him to sit down. I gave Stuart a few minutes to put pants on before open the door and closing it quickly only to see Stuart jump up.

"What the hell? You didn't tell me your dad was coming with you!" I held up Stuart's phone that was resting on his nightstand.

"I did. The one time you don't check your phone-" He cut me off.

"And you bring your dad in here to see me naked! How am I supposed to look him in the face now?" Stuart put his hands over his face as he whispered harshly. I couldn't help but smirk at him.

"It could be worse, you could have been meeting him for the first time and ranting about boners." Stuart moved his hands down his face and glared at me. I crossed my arms over my chest and smiled smugly.

"Oh so this is funny karma stuff for you?" Stuart was not happy but I walked over to him and put a hand on his damp shoulder.

"It's okay. Just put some clothes on and be yourself. We've been together a month. This is protocol. I'm sure I'll get another chance to embarrass myself in front of your family when the time comes." I pushed his glasses onto his face and he rolled his eyes.

"You should probably get out of here. I don't want him thinking you're like helping me decompress or anything." Stuart blushed. I gave him a quick kiss before walking towards the bedroom door.

"I'll make it up to you tonight. Just get through a few hours with him and I'll make it worth it." I winked at him before opening the door and closing it. Dad turned around and looked at me.

"I'm heading to work. Go easy on him." I kissed his forehead and he waved at me.

"Be safe kiddo. I'll call you tomorrow about the movie." I gave him a nod before shutting the door behind myself. I laughed the whole way to work and had to explain the station to Marielena. She too thought it was pretty hysterical but agreed it could have been much worse.

"So how was the bod? I mean I know you two haven't gotten to the good stuff yet but that kind of gave you a sneak peek right?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me as I poured another drink.

"Let's just say, I wouldn't mind getting him out of the towel under different circumstances." She squealed out a laugh before shaking my shoulders and causing me to spill some of the Grey Goose in my hand.

"Girl you to need to seriously let him know you are ready and willing. Your sexual frustration is making me frustrated." She teased and I could feel the pinch of a smile in my cheeks. She was right. I had to do something to step my game up or this was going to be a very uneventfully frustrating summer.

**[Stuart's POV]**

I pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt before creeping out into the living room to find Billy kicked back watching my TV.

"Hey sorry about that-" He patted the space next to him on the couch.

"Nonsense. It's all good. I should have given you a heads up or something but I really just wanted to have a nice sit down with you and talk about a few things." I sat down cautiously next to Billy hoping he wasn't about to ask anything that could potentially get me in trouble or murdered.

"Is there anything particular you wanted to talk about or did you just want to shoot the shit?" I silently cursed myself for even using a gun reference. I was so horrible at this. I wished Abby was here to pull the cord on the whole thing.

"Relax Stu, it's just me, Billy. I'm your friend and team mate." Billy put his hand on his chest.

"Yeah but you're also my girlfriend's dad. I mean things are a little different." I pointed out seeing him nod.

"As far as I can see you're treating her right and make her happy. That's enough for me. Hey, I rather it be someone I know than someone I don't, you know what I'm saying?" He hit my chest with the back of his hand and I nodded.

"Yeah I guess I can see that." I tried to ease back into the couch.

"You know I noticed you don't have a whole lot of pictures of your family around. I mean I know you just moved into this place temporarily but I figured you'd at least have one picture up someplace." I knew this was a not so slick way of asking about my family.

"Did Abby already talk to you about my family situation?" I questioned purely curious but he held my gaze.

"She wouldn't do that. If it's one thing I know more than anything about my babygirl it's that she's fiercely loyal. I guess that's why I'm asking. I was curious as to what kind of family you came from." Billy asked and I felt the tension come back in my body.

"Why? I mean my family doesn't have anything thing to do with the man I am. I've gotten myself this far and it wasn't easy." I defended making Billy put his hands up.

"Hey, I completely understand that. You think I'm responsible for half the things Abby does? That girl is self made. I wasn't suggesting anything but I can see it's a sensitive subject for you." Billy was the kind of father I wish I had. Understanding and actually cared about how I felt.

"My dad's kind of a hard ass. He doesn't believe in any of the things I'm good at. He feels like manual labor is the only real kind of job. If I blow this internship, I'm basically screwed." I clasped my hands together and leaned my elbows on top of my knees.

"Your dad sounds old school. What kind of work does he do?" Billy pressed a little bit more but I could tell he was trying to be careful.

"He's an architect. He runs a construction company back home building for the wealthy on the East coast. Technological advances are irrelevant to him even though there are about 16 programs off the top of my head I can think of that would make his job much easier." I rolled my eyes.

"Do you have any siblings?" Billy asked making me rub the back of my neck. It became pretty clear that he was telling the truth. If he was trying to back peddle out of talking about my dad then he would have known my siblings was the last place I'd want to go next.

"I have two brothers. Junior and Russ." I shrugged.

"Guess you aren't close with them either huh? I'm going to assume you're the baby brother." He leaned forward mimicking my posture.

"Yeah and they never let me forget it. No matter how much I try to prove myself." I said without thinking.

"Maybe you shouldn't try so hard to prove yourself to your family. I mean you seem like a decent guy to me and I've only known you for about a month and some change. You do well for yourself here, you're a valuable member of the team and you're smart as hell. You've clearly got excellent taste in women." He nudged me and I couldn't help but laugh.

"She is pretty great." I looked over at him proudly.

"Do you ever think about what you're going to do when this is over? I mean win or lose, you still have a year left in school. Are you guys going to do the long distance thing or what?" I swallowed uncomfortably and shrugged.

"I don't...I don't know really. I mean we just agreed to take it a day at a time and just have a fun summer together." I realized how that sounded and quickly turned towards him.

"Not that we fool around all the time or anything. We're just having fun, pure PG13 fun." I rambled out.

"Wow I think I'd rather go back to talking about my screwed up family." I covered my face again and jumped when Billy clapped hand on my back.

"I wasn't born yesterday Stu. She's an adult. As long as you're respectful, whatever happens with you guys is between you. But I would like to hear more about some of the things you like. Let Uncle Bill into your inner sanctum." I narrowed my eyebrows together trying not to be creeped out by Billy before thinking of some things that I liked. We spent the next hour talking about baseball and video games. Occasionally he'd ask more questions about my family and I mentioned that I had asked Abby to attend Junior's wedding with me. We ended up grabbing pizza before he told me all about how him and Nick met and became friends when they were kids. It explained a lot about them just hearing some of their stories. By the time we went our separate ways, I felt like I knew Billy a little better. I could definitely see some of Abby's traits that came from Billy even if he didn't. I walked into the club and spotted Abby in fishnet stockings, blue sequin bikini and heels. Her hair was pinned up and messy as she smiled and swayed her hips delivering people their drinks. I walked up to the bar and waited for her to come back to get drinks not wanting to bother her while she was working. When she finally saw me, she smiled and made her way through the crowd.

"You survived!" She yelled throwing her free hand up.

"Yeah you owe me." I leaned on the bar and she gave me a quick kiss.

"I'm going to need about 50 more of those with a little tongue perhaps." I teased as Marielena walked up and gave me a nod.

"You know the new booth is open upstairs. You could break it in. I know Max wont mind as long as you keep it clean." She winked at me before bumping Abby with her hip.

"Wow a private room? I knew I liked her." I joked but Abby sat her tray on the bar giving me a strange look.

"Kat, take my tables. I'll be back in a bit." She hollered down the bar to a blond in a matching outfit who didn't seem to mind. She hopped onto the bar and spun around until she could hop down in front of me.

"A private dance is the least I can do. After all you did win a challenge today." Abby took my hand and started to pull me through the crowd of people towards a dark velvet curtain. Once we got behind the curtain, I saw that there was a hallway full of doors.

"This is kind of scary. You aren't going to torture me to find out what your dad and I talked about are you?" I asked purely joking but when she stopped in front of a door and pushed me against it, I became a bit nervous.

"Let's not talk about my dad right now." Abby was being a bit forceful but I was enjoying it. I stumbled into the room and saw a giant chair sitting at the back of the room. There was a singular pole for dancing and a sound system port in the wall.

"This is pretty fancy. You can't even hear the music from out there." I gestured back to the door to see Abby turn the lock on it. I felt my hands sweating and wiped them on my jeans.

"That's the one thing I love most about these rooms. They're all sound proof so when you give dances, the dancer sets the pace. I personal think a lap dance should be slow and carefully planned. Anyone can just grind up on a guy but the best dances end happily for both parties." Abby ran her hands down my shirt and I got the chills. She was pushing me back slightly until my legs hit the chair.

"You know I was kidding…you don't have to give me anything." I brought my hand up to touch her cheek but she shook her head slowly before shoving me down in the chair. I watched her hips sway carefully back towards the sound system on the wall as she picked a song. The words Ride by SoMo scrolled across the bar as a slow song started to play.

"You know the key to a good lap dance is having excellent rhythm, which I have but I prefer slower songs with a steady beat." Abby moved her body to the song and ran her hands over her exposed skin making her way back to me.

"Um…yeah…yeah I can see how that would…help." I felt like my throat was drying out from my jaw being slack for so long. Some people would say I could catch flies with my mouth being open like this but at this point, a small animal could hop up in my mouth and I probably wouldn't notice. I was much to engrossed in watching Abby's body move.

"Close contact and light teasing always pair nicely with slow, hard grinding. You already seem to be enjoying yourself." Abby straddled my hips and swiveled her hips down into my groin making me jump. She pulled her hair down and let it hang around her face, getting extra comfortable.

"Wh- I…sorry? I don't typically have sexy women grinding against my…Jesus." I felt myself growing harder by the second and I bit my lip trying to contain myself. I've had one lap dance here before but it was nothing like this. Abby dipped her lips down to kiss behind my ear and she bumped my glasses slightly tilting them on my face but I was too focused on the death grip I had on the arms of the chair to fix them.

"The key to receiving a lap dance is letting go enough to enjoy it. Do you think you can do that? Do you think you can let go enough to enjoy what my body does to yours?" I felt Abby's breath against my neck as she continued to grind down into my hard on. I felt the familiar pressure building in my abdomen and knew that if she kept doing what she was doing, I was going to be stuck in one terrible awkward sticky situation. I almost forgot that she had asked me something I was so focused on how good it felt.

"I can…I can hardly form words…I don't think that'll be a problem." I swallowed hard, panting against Abby's chest as her hips dug harder into my own. I almost thought I could control it until she moaned into my ear, biting the lobe. I felt my eyes roll back in my head and my jaw slacked as white hot flashes bolted behind my eyes. I rode out the orgasms for a few seconds, feeling the sparks from the friction she was creating before I had to finally grab her hips and stop her.

"Stop...stop..." I was out of breath and felt light headed as she leaned on her knees.

"Are you okay?" Abby's voice brought me back to reality. The reality that I had completely blew my load from a lap dance and the song wasn't even over yet. I didn't want to open my eyes but I knew I had to. She was smiling softly at me like she wasn't sure what was wrong with me.

"I've got to go." I said looking up at her. Her smile started to fade and I maneuvered from under her, jumping from how sensitive I still was. It had been a long time since I got off like that and I wasn't sure how to handle this. I'd never experienced anything like this before.

"Stuart-" I cut her off with a kiss.

"I'm sorry to bail. I totally forgot I left something at HQ. I need to grab it before some one takes it. I'll call you!" I tried my hardest to run through the club but my pants were starting to stick to me. I let out a sigh of relief getting into a cab and heading back to my place. It wasn't until I got into my apartment and locked my door did I realize what I'd just done.

"What the hell is wrong with me?!" I scolded myself aloud wanting to punch myself. I started to peel my clothes off to get in the shower but gave my dick a very dirty look for completely letting me down tonight. I wasn't sure what the hell I was going to say to Abby.

**[Abby's POV]**

Just when I thought things were going well, Stuart ran out on a lap dance. I know it wasn't my technique and I know damn well he didn't leave anything at HQ so I wasn't sure what the hell was going on. You would think he would have called like he said he would but I didn't get a call from Stuart. I didn't even get a text back when I told him that I had gotten home safe and I was sorry for whatever I did to upset him.

No, Stuart left me hanging all damn night into the next day. He had made himself impossible to get ahold of. I wasn't going to press him though. Maybe he wasn't ready to get physical. Maybe his high school trauma was too much for him to do anything that intimate. I had apologized but maybe some time and space was what he needed. It sucked though. I hated feeling like I had screwed up just because I couldn't control my hormones. Marielena tried to talk me out of funk the next morning but I knew I'd have to see him later at my dad's so there was no point in shaking off when I'd have to possibly get broken up with in just a few hours. I had a countdown in my head as I clocked out and picked up dinner for everyone.

I walked in and was greeted warmly by everyone but I didn't see Stuart.

"I brought the food, heathens. Come and get it." Neha was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, Lyle was in a chair by the window and Yo-Yo was on the floor next to Neha. Nick and dad both greeted me with kisses before grabbing a carton a piece and some napkins to hand out. I heard the toilet flush in the bathroom and Stuart appeared stunned to see me.

"Hey." He said quickly.

"Hi." I tucked my hair behind my ear and moved a carton towards him.

"Is this for me?" He asked surprised.

"I got a text with everyone's order. Since you didn't reply I got what I knew you liked." I shrugged like it was no big deal and he nodded.

"Thanks. Sorry I didn't get back to you." Stuart stepped closer to me to whisper but I shook my head.

"It's fine. I understand. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable." I could barely look him in the eyes but what I saw was how sad he looked. I felt like instant trash.

"You guys watching or what?" Nick called towards us and Stuart cleared his throat.

"I'm going to step out and make a call really quick. You guys go ahead and start without me." Stuart walked out the door without a second thought and I leaned against the counter. They had started the movie and it was about 15 minutes in when I decided to go retrieve him. I walked out and found him pacing around at the bottom of the steps talking to himself.

"I can go if I'm making things worse. This is supposed to be about your team building. I don't need to be here." I offered catching his attention.

"What? Why would I want that?" Stuart questioned.

"Obviously you're struggling with something and it's my fault so-" He cut me off.

"You make it sound like you did something wrong." Stuart shook his head at me and I looked down at my feet.

"Didn't I?" I still couldn't meet his gaze but I knew he'd frozen in place.

"What? No oh my God I made you think you did something wrong? Jesus I fucking suck at this. Abby, you haven't done anything wrong." He walked over to me and rubbed my arms.

"Then why did you run out last night and proceed to avoid me all day?" I asked rolling my eyes. He backed up a few steps and groaned like he knew something I didn't and he hated that he had to explain it to me.

"I was embarrassed okay? We haven't really done anything…like that until last night." I pinned my eyebrows together staring at him in confusion.

"So you aren't upset I gave you a lap dance?" I was so lost. He was embarrassed about receiving a dance or being that intimate with someone? He took a step towards me as he pulled a face of shock.

"What?! No hell no! The lap dance was fucking awesome. You're super talented in that area. I personally think you deserve an award." Stuart went a bit over the top and I chuckled lightly.

"Thanks…but that doesn't explain why you bugged out." I pointed out. I watched him cringe at the mention of his bug out. I felt bad for drawing this whole thing out but I had to know what the hell happened.

"I know you've been through a lot because of the last guy you dated and I know you wanted to take things slow but last night all I could think about was having sex with you." My eyebrows went up as realization just hit me. This had nothing to do with making him feel bad. It was because he was trying to be respectful and that was really hard to do with me grinding in his lap.

"So this is about the whole taking it slow thing? Why didn't you just say that instead of running out of the club without even calling me?" I questioned remembering what Lindsay said about communicating with Stuart about how I felt more. She always managed to find a way to be right in the most annoying ways.

"Well once I'd come in my pants, I panicked. I figured anything that I could possibly say at that point would be defensive or completely idiotic. I'm not good with words after I…" I cut him off.

"Blow it?" He blushed but I bit my lip to keep from smiling in his face. I took a few steps towards him and he let his hands drop down to his sides.

"I'm going to be really blunt with you right now. Do you think you can handle it?" I asked putting my arms around his neck. He nodded letting his hands find my hips.

"I really enjoy being your girlfriend but we've got to work on this whole communication thing. We can't just keep running away. It drives me crazy." I said honestly.

"I'm sorry I got weird on you again." Stuart leaned his forehead against mine and I laughed.

"To be fair, you did warn me that you might but that's not all I wanted to say." Stuart leaned back and looked at me.

"I love that you've respected the pace I had asked for. Honestly it shows what kind of guy you really are." I smiled at him rubbing the back of his neck.

"But you're a pretty hot piece of ass Stuart Twombly." Stuart's eyebrow cocked.

"I'm sorry what?" He questioned as if he'd heard me wrong.

"I would very much like to move things in this relationship to a sexual place, if you're okay with that." I said firmly making sure to hold onto his face with my hands and pulling him closer.

"Translation being I want to fuck your brains out Twombly." Stuart's eyebrows had practically disappeared into his hairline. He stood trying to form words for a moment before shaking his head and clearing his throat.

"Yeah yeah I could be...I could be down for that. I mean I am totally down for that. We should-" Stuart started to pull me towards the car and I laughed pulling him back.

"Nope not right now. Now we kiss a little bit and go back up to the team movie night." Stuart looked like I had just kicked him in the stomach.

"Seriously? You want me to go back up there after saying some shit like that to me? Have we not established that you get me going very easily?" Stuart whined but I put my hand on his chin and pulled him down to a kiss. I felt him breath out of his nose like he knew he had to give up.

"Fine but you're sitting with me in the armchair or no deal." Stuart said firmly making me smile.

"Sounds like a deal." I took his hand and pulled him behind me up the stairs, catching just barely his whispers of how nice he thought my ass was but when we opened the door, the others didn't even bother looking at us. Stuart grabbed his carton of orange chicken and plopped down on the arm chair he'd been sitting in before pulling me into his lap. I got comfortable and started picking out of his carton when I caught a smile from my dad. I returned it happily before focusing on the TV.

"Our Professor X was way meaner than this guy." Dad spoke up making Yo-Yo, Lyle and Neha look over at Stuart who tried not to laugh.

"It wasn't funny at the time." He added making everyone chuckle. I hit Stuart's chest with the back of my hand and he put his hand up to catch my hand. I gave him a quick kiss before relaxing back into him to watch the rest of the movie. Stuart used his fingertips to rub the back of my hand as we watched the movie and I felt utterly content. It was nice feeling like everything was falling into place for once.


End file.
